She Had the World
by Artemis Taichou
Summary: A bewildered Sakura finds herself being offered options from Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sai that could shatter lines that she had been trying to keep drawn.
1. She Had the World

**A/N: **Hey, guys! Okay, so this started out as a one-shot, but I decided to make it a chapter story, that's why it might seem a bit slow and unconnected at first, but bear with me if you like the direction it's going. I'm thinking of developing it into an M rated story, but I'll inform before the chapter starts, so no kiddies soil their eyes with my filth. Oh and please ignore any punctuation errors, I promise I edited, but I did a bad job.

I was listening to "She Had the World" by Panic! At the Disco while writing this chapter, if you guys are interested. Good song.

**Update: **I edited a part in this story that might have had some of you confused. Once again, my bad editing job stands out. Ugh. Don't look at me.

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing.

Okay, here's a more detailed summary. And it is Sakura centered:

Living in a very dangerous world where kunoichi are forced to weather dangerous missions, sometimes romantic notions of love and sex are notwithstanding and naive. Fearing the worst, Sakura, Ino, and Hinata make a pact to lose their virginity by the end of the two weeks, not wanting their first time to be forced upon them. Unbeknownst to them, the members of Team 7 overhear their conversation and pass along the information to the teammates of the other two girls. Later, a bewildered Sakura finds herself being offered options from her teammates that could shatter lines that she had been trying to keep drawn.

Enjoy!

She Had the World

_"But that girl had so much love,_

_She'd wanna kiss you all the time"_

- "She Had the World"

Panic! At the Disco

"Kakashi, it's that time again," Sakura said nonchalantly. She tried to phrase it as casually as possible, so as not to alarm him.

Not hearing a reply, Sakura turned to look at Kakashi.

He was sprawled haphazardly across her couch with one armed draped over the back and one holding, of course, his precious _Icha Icha _book. He seemed not to have heard her or else he was ignoring her, which was a _bad idea._ A third option was that he probably guessed what was coming—and being the cunning and crafty man that he was—was most likely scrambling through his brains for a means of escape.

The rest of her boys could also be found situated on random surfaces around her apartment: Naruto claimed a space on her carpeted floor, next to the couch, while he dozed off; Sasuke seated himself on one of her worn-out wooden chairs by her rickety table, keeping his mind occupied by trying to solve a puzzle Sakura had left unfinished a couple days ago. She couldn't wait to see the look on his face when he realized the puzzle, when finished, depicted a half-naked, heavily muscled man, in the process of putting on a cowboy hat while the sun set behind him, giving his well-oiled and sun kissed muscles and startlingly clear definition and his skin-tight trousers sharp shadows. Normally, Sakura wouldn't be caught dead being in the possession of these types of things, but it had been a present from Ino and she had happed to be bored enough to actually start the damn thing. Sakura had left it out because, well, she really wanted to see Sasuke's face when he finished. It was way too easy to tease the guy.

Sai was studying one of her thick medical books, which he had picked off of her cluttered shelf. Knowing her luck, the book probably was on the topic of menstruation or pregnancy and Sai would certainly have many awkward questions on those topics.

The boys had taken it upon themselves to label her small apartment as a rendezvous point when they were incurably bored. When one of them showed up—usually strolling right on in without knocking—it seemed that the other three would follow as if they had a chip implanted in their brain's that alerted them to whenever one of them was in her presence; the signal would go off, then it would be Party Time At Sakura's. It nettled her to no end… but also comforted her. It piqued her when they ate whatever they wanted and made a mess in her kitchen; it peeved her when they used her bathroom and left the toilet seat up; it vexed her when they left their muddy footprints on her newly scrubbed floor, but then again…

Yes, they were aggravating, but Sakura could not deny that she found a sort of contented satisfaction that they chose her place as a regular hang out. They could have gone to Sasuke's, where there was plenty of room to spare and them some, but no, they chose her. For all the barrel-full of aggravation they caused her, they returned just as much comfort; it calmed her when the first thing Kakashi did when he walked in through the door, was to ruffle her hair in affection when he knew she had had a trying day at the hospital; Sakura felt secure when one of them (usually Naruto) came to lie next to her on the couch, with the intention of placing their head on her lap; it was relaxing when she observed them all— clustered and squabbling around her wobbly table at dinner time—with a small smile etched on her face. They were an inseparable group and she was overjoyed to be a part of it.

…but it was times like these that she could happily brain her idiots with a frying pan.

She turned her body in full to pierce Kakashi with a viridian-eyed stare. The only move he made was to lift his arm up off the couch to turn the page of his book.

"Kakashi, did you hear me?" Sakura asked with an edge of impatience in her voice.

"Hmm?" Kakashi lazily retorted, turning his head a fraction towards her, but not unsticking his eyes from the evidently scintillating novel.

"I said 'it's that time again'" Sakura repeated in a clipped tone.

"Ahh, well," Kakashi coughed lightly. He seemed a bit mortified. "You know there's a pharmacy down the street…" he trailed off, uncomfortable.

Sakura took up a shoe that was located next to her and chucked it forcefully at him. He caught the shoe with one quick flash of his hand and dropped it on the floor next to him, all the while keeping his eyes roving the pages of his novel. Nartuo grunted from his place on the floor; Kakashi had dumped the shoe on his unsuspecting face, apparently forgetting he was there.

"Oww, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto uttered sleepily from his place on the floor, then added, "Eww, Sakura, we don't need to know that."

"I didn't say 'it's that time of the _month _again'" Sakura said, miffed. She was tempted to arm herself with another shoe— this one intended for Naruto's face.

"By 'that time of the month' and previous allusions to that phrase, I take it to mean…" Sai paused and peered down at the text resting in his hands, then looked up again, "The shedding of the uterine lining, which causes periodic discharge of blood and mucosal tissue from the uterus and vagina?"

So it _was _the menstruation text he had decided to delight upon. Fantastic.

Sasuke looked up from his half-completed puzzle and made a face. Naruto just gave a half-hearted 'ugh' and turned onto his stomach.

Sakura walked briskly up to Sai and snatched the book away from him.

"Give me that!" She said curtly. "I swear you need constant supervision."

Sai laid a consoling hand upon her shoulder and looked into her eyes with empathy. "It sounds painful, I'm sorry you must suffer through this misfortune every month. Next time it happens, be sure to inform me and I will aide you in any way that I can."

Sakura thawed somewhat towards her socially inept friend. Having Sai not understand the intricate workings of civilized society sometimes made him attractively adorable. Sakura sure hoped that never changed.

She gave him a sweet smile, wrapped her arms around him and rubbed her cheek against his chest, supplying him with an affectionate hug. Sai immediately reciprocated the hug with palpable warmth; he was getting better with acts of spontaneous emotion.

"Thank you, Sai. You're so sweet. Unlike some—," She shot an icy glare at Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi, "—people."

They all seemed to have gone momentarily deaf because they chose not to respond to her accusation. They did, however, eye Sai distrustfully; he was hugging her a little too enthusiastically for their taste.

Sometimes, Sai had a silver tongue and said wonderfully charming ovations that earned warm hugs from and praises Sakura, but one could never tell if they were sincere and innocent or just a way for him to weasel a reaction from Sakura. Sai certainly had come a long way from the unemotional prick he used to be, but there were still many formalities that were left to be learned and practiced. He was often seen in the possession of lengthy novels describing human interaction and one time, Kakashi had seen him studying a questionable book entitled, _50 Full Proof Tactics On How to Charm and Delight the Females In Your Life: Ninja Edition. _Since then, there had been a significant increase in the amount of physical touching between Sai and Sakura— all innocent, of course… for now. For the rest of the envious boys in Team 7, it was unnerving; _they _never got that many hugs from her—and it was this concern that Kakashi decided to voice at that very moment.

"How come _I _never get a hug, anymore?" Kakashi had a very prominent pout jutting out through his mask and he did his best to cram every ounce of petulance into his query.

"Or me?" Naruto piqued from the floor.

Sasuke said nothing, but he certainly seemed interested enough in the subject. His hand twitched towards a kunai on his belt as he eyed his two embracing teammates; Sai still had not let Sakura go.

"Because you jerk's don't deserve one!" Sakura's irate voice could be heard, muffled from Sai's chest. She bent her neck a fraction to the side to be better understood and added, "And because you never ask. _I know _Sai likes my hugs, but the rest of you could be moldy logs for all the stiff reception they receive. Except for Naruto, but that can't really be called hugging—it's more like suffocation."

Kakashi's pout intensified; he didn't feel that there was a need to add the 'moldy' part.

In truth, Kakashi and Sasuke really enjoyed her hugs—they just didn't know how to show it. A warm, gentle hug from a soft, coconut smelling woman was always appealing, to be honest. Unfortunately, physical affection was not one of Kakashi's or Sasuke's strong suits and they could not dish it out spontaneously, like Naruto. Aside from the occasional romp with a female met at the bar, Kakashi and Sasuke did not have the propensity to impulsively show affection to someone—even Sakura—and she just meant so much more to them that the unimpressionable women met at night where drinks were abundant and inhibitions scarce.

"Aw, Sakura, you don't like my hugs?" Naruto's lip wobbled and he looked so desolate that Sakura had to reassure him.

"I—uh, I mean, it's more like a good kind of suffocation, y'know? Like, instead of a giant snake cutting off my breathing, it's more like a teddy bear with you," Sakura said with a breathy laugh. She gave him a wide grin until Naruto's look of melancholy dissipated and was replaced by a bright smile.

Sasuke snorted, although the snort didn't much sound like a snort, but like the word 'bullshit'. Fortunately, Naruto didn't hear him.

"I like your hugs, Sakura," Kakashi said with sincerity. "But I don't know about Moldy Log Number One over there." He flicked his hand to indicate Sasuke.

Everyone turned to eye Sasuke and gauge his reaction.

"Hn," was all he said in a flat, emotionless voice. He added to Kakashi, "And I am not Moldy Log Number One. You are."

"Okay. I'm sure Moldy Log Number Two is worse, though." Kakashi ended the squabble abruptly by turning back to his book and ignoring Sasuke's glare.

"Aw, Sasuke, you don't have to be embarrassed," Naruto added with a grin and a teasing voice. "We all know you like Sakura's hugs. Just admit it."

Sasuke ignored his teasing and kept on with the puzzle. There was a light tint of pink high on his cheeks, though.

"Well, whatever." Sakura brushed the conversation off with a shrug. She'd just keep on giving them hugs anyway—whether they liked it or not. She had finally let go of Sai and had turned to Kakashi again. "_Like I was saying, _it's time for you to go in again."

"Go in where, Sakura?"Kakashi was, once again, not giving her his full attention.

Sakura smiled wickedly and said, voice dripping with relish, "It's time for your yearly physical."

If there were any six letter sentences that could send Kakashi into full-scale panic mode, this ranked high on the list. Now, Kakashi was no coward—his many achievements and skills were testament to that—but dangle a visit to the hospital in front of his face and he would run from it faster than Jiraiya running from a mob of enraged females—and that was pretty damn fast. He would sooner hear the words "Kakashi, your entrails are sticking out" than the damnable cruelty he had just been sentenced to.

Sakura knew all this, of course, which was why she was watching him like a hawk, waiting for his escape attempt.

All the others had their eyes glued on him, also, assessing his reaction.

Kakashi's eye, once roaming across the page, froze and widened slightly with horror for only a split second before returning to its scrutiny of his book. If Sakura hadn't known him so well, she would not have noticed the split-second of almost indecipherable tightness around his eyes and look of terror that those words had induced in him. He was a ninja after all; complete calm under pressure was a job necessity.

"There's no need, Sakura. I had one preformed the week before," Kakashi lied smoothly.

"Bullshit," Sakura said. "Tsunade herself told me just this morning. She's been going through the records to make sure that every shinobi gets their yearly check-up and discovered that you'd managed to worm your way out of a physical for two years straight. She told me to _stress _the fact that it won't be tolerated any longer and to drag you in by—," She looked him straight in the eye to make her threat prominent, "—_any means necessary._

So are you going to go quietly or not?" Sakura asked.

It was then that Kakashi made his move.

His muscles tensed as he sprang up from the couch in a one fluid motion and made to run as fast as he could. He rushed towards the window, which was situated along the same wall as the couch and closer than the door. Sakura was blocking the door anyway and he _was not_ going to face that scruple. He was halfway to his destination—he could almost taste freedom and feel the sweet breeze through his hair—before he felt a tug on his midsection and a rough _yank _dragged him ruthlessly backwards, towards the couch again.

He looked down expecting to see a determined and cross pink-haired kunoichi grasping him, only to see a green chakra thread holding him snugly instead. Furthermore, it was not any normal charka thread. No, it was not being produced by Sakura, but instead connected to the couch that was drawing ever nearer as the thread contracted and pulled him closer.

When he was once again on the couch with several more threads binding him down, he looked accusingly at a highly amused Sakura and three other grinning boys staring down at him.

"Whoa, Sakura, what did you do?" asked an impressed Naruto.

"Well," Said Sakura in a smug voice, "shishou and I knew that he was gonna put up a fight, so she taught me a very useful justu for troublesome patients." She grinned. "And then she gave me the rest of the afternoon off to set it up for Kakashi."

Naruto started laughing, Sai gave her a genuine grin, and even Sasuke threw her a pleased smile.

"Bravo," Kakashi said in a deadpan matter. "I would clap my hands if only I could. Sakura, be a dear and untie them for me."

"I don't think so, Kakashi," Sakura retorted. "Oh, stop being such a baby," She added, after glimpsing at his petulant glower, "it's not that bad—it'll only take twenty minutes at most and I'll give you a lollipop after.

You should be glad it's me giving you the exam, anyways. A lot of the other nurses volunteered to do it and they were _very _enthusiastic about it." Sakura mood took a slight downturn also, when she recalled the female nurse's eager tittering when they knew Hatake Kakashi needed a physical. It was the same for her other boys, too. Whenever it was announced that they might be making a visit to the hospital, a fervent atmosphere could be detected around the female variety (and a few males, too). Sakura always made sure to quash their animated demeanor by popping in and announcing that, like always, _she _would be the one of take care of that particular job. A pang of jealousy always made an appearance during the observation of the other females, but she always decided to brush the feeling off as inconsequential. Sakura wasn't ready to face what _that _meant quite just yet.

"I suppose you're right," Kakashi said, brightening a bit at the prospect of not having to deal with an overly eager nurse, trying to convince him to take his boxers off even though they both knew that that particular physical did not require the removal of all his clothing.

"What kind of lollipop is it?" Kakashi asked keenly.

"Oh, you'll see," Sakura answered, making a move towards him to haul him off the couch.

"Since you're being so difficult, I'll just have to carry you there. And beware," she added with a hard stare, "I'll have no escape attempts or else you're going to be very unlucky. This _was _only Plan A, after all. I have a Plan B, C, and D, too. Next time, be more indulging."

She gathered her chakra and swung a humiliated Kakashi over her shoulder, which induced snickers from the other boys and more embarrassment from Kakashi.

"Hmph," was all he uttered in a defeated tone.

"I'll see you guys later." Sakura waved at Naruto, Sai, and Sasuke from over Kakashi's bent back.

"Are we gonna have dinner here tomorrow?" asked Naruto before she could step out the door with a gloomy Kakashi as her backpack.

"No, sorry. Ino, Hinata, and me are going out to dinner tomorrow, but maybe the day after tomorrow, okay?" She answered with a smile.

"Okay." Naruto rushed to her and gave her a quick peck on her head before she left. "Try not to kill Kakashi-sensei."

Sakura grinned at him.

"What the fuck?" Sasuke exclaimed from the table, looking down at the competed puzzle in horror.

Sakura's grin widened and even Kakashi emitted a deflated chuckle.

Sai walked over to a disturbed Sasuke and gazed down at the puzzle before unhelpfully supplying, "Ah, no wonder you were so thoroughly engrossed in your activity. No need to hide your excitement."

Sasuke made to get out of his seat, but Sakura stopped him with a menacing shout.

"You two better not start that up in here, you'll trash my apartment! Go outside and beat the shit out of each other!" She turned to Naruto and said in a pleading tone, "Please don't let them trash my apartment. And don't worry about me killing Kakashi, just try not let those idiots kill _themselves."_

Naruto nodded.

She smiled. "Okay, thanks." She turned her head sharply towards the glaring match that was Sasuke and Sai. "Cut it out!" She glared until they withdrew their eyes from each other.

"Good." She nodded in approval. "Bye."

She stepped out the apartment and closed the door behind her, praying that she would come home to a complete apartment.

**A/N: **What I tried to do was establish what kind of relationship these five have before moving on to more interesting subjects. Oh, and just a warning, I'm maybe kinda sorta maybe possibly heavily leaning towards this being a reverse harem fic with these five. Yeah…pretty sure it's gonna be endgame.

I almost have the second chapter done, so if you guys liked it, yay!

Constructive and/or nice reviews are always appreciated ^_^


	2. Some Nights

**A/N: **OMG, thank you for all the nice reviews and all the follows/favorites! You guys are awesome! As a gift, here's the second chapter :D

So, for the record, I usually name the chapters after the songs that inspired the writing the most. Sometimes I will diverge from this path, but not usually. I highly recommend all the songs, by the way.

I just have to say that the first chapter was kinda sunshine and rainbows and this one, well…isn't. I hope I don't give you whiplash.

Enjoy! (And once again, please ignore any punctuation errors.)

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing.

Some Nights

_"Some nights, I stay up cashing in my bad luck"_

- "Some Nights"

Fun.

Sakura was walking into the crowded restaurant where she, Hinata, and Ino were supposed to meet. She had just come from the hospital where she had been working tirelessly all morning until five, when she was then thankfully allowed to leave.

Spotting Ino and Hinata sitting at a booth situated in between two others, she waded her way through the crowd to meet them.

"Hey, guys," Sakura greeted when she reached them.

"Hey, Sakura," Ino retorted enthusiastically.

"Hi, Sakura," Hinata said, a bit more timidly.

They exchanged a few more pleasantries before the waitress came over to receive their order.

They were sipping their drinks before Ino brought up a troubling subject that had reached their years from other ninja the day before.

"Have you guys heard of all the rapes that have been happening to kunoichi? It's making me dread going on missions." She looked troubled as she gazed down at her drink. "I mean, usually we can defend ourselves from this type of this, but rumor has it that it's no ordinary ninja going around doing this. He's supposedly from the Bingo Book and he's made it clear that raping women is his trade. No one's been able to catch him yet."

Hinata gasped. "You mean he's that dangerous?"

Ino nodded.

Sakura had heard of this deplorable man, of course, but he had not come close to their village until a few days ago, when a sexually assaulted and murdered kunoichi had been found near the outskirts of the border of the village. Tsunade had been informed, but seeing as the accused was from another village and none of the Konoha kunoichi had been harmed so far, she had decided to leave it alone until it became her problem, so as to not cause any village disputes over convicted criminals.

Since Sakura had no control over the situation, she had tried to put it out of her mind even when she became enraged that this maniac was still free and killing women.

She saw Hinata and Ino's worried expressions and tried to assuage them. "Hey don't worry. The people that have been hunting this man down were probably low-ranking shinobi. The problem might very well be taken care of soon if they send more powerful ones to track him down."

"Yes, you're right," Hinata said, looking a bit more cheerful.

"Still, it's got me thinking…" The troubled looked had not cleared from Ino's face as she gazed down at her drink.

"What?" Sakura asked, curious.

Ino turned her head about to check if there were any eavesdroppers. They were sitting in a booth at the corner of the building and the tall, padded walls of the cushioned seats offered concealment from those siting around them. The restaurant was also very crowded; intermingling civilians and shinobi sat and chatted at various places around tables and chairs. There was a slim chance of them being overheard.

Ino beckoned her hand for the other two girls to bend their heads closer.

"Um, well… are you guys still virgins?" she asked in a hushed voice.

_Wait, what? _ Sakura was taken aback—she was not expecting that question. Hinata blushed furiously and looked down at her hands.

"What? _Why?" _queried Sakura, puzzled.

"Well, with all the dangerous missions we go on, I just don't want my first time to be forced on me by some enemy nin!" Ino seemed out of breath by the end of her sentence—as if she had worked up the courage to evoke the words she had just uttered.

"Whoa, you're still a virgin, Ino?" asked an incredulous Sakura. _No way._

I was true that Sakura was a little skeptical and doubtful at Ino's confession. I was hard to believe because, frankly, Ino had always been the most promiscuous of their lot…or so it seemed. She was the one with a few boyfriends under her belt—a fact that she never failed to remind an unexperienced Sakura about—and the one who was always flirting with the males that flocked around her. Sakura had just always assumed that Ino had already done the deed.

"Don't act so surprised about it!" snapped an irked Ino. "I know you probably think I'm lying—but I'm not. Yes, I've had those boyfriends, but we never got that far because my dad always scared the shit out of them. They always broke up with me after he took them into a room and gave them what he calls "the warning"." She made quotation marks with her fingers. "They were all too afraid to try anything with me after that, let alone have sex with me. Oh, and my overprotective teammates didn't help things either."

Sakura and Hinata nodded knowingly; they knew all about overprotective teammates.

"So are you guys?—Virgins, I mean," asked Ino again.

With one look at the beet-red Hyuga, Sakura could discern the answer quite easily. It seemed Ino could as well because she had directed the question mostly to Sakura.

Hinata nodded meekly and Sakura answered with a reluctant "yes".

"Okay, so I was thinking, I mean, it's just sex, right? And, well, all those reports of rapes really got to me and I just wanna get it out of the way, so I can feel better about actually choosing who my first time is with." Ino stopped and looked sincerely up at the two other girls.

"What are you getting at, Ino?" asked Sakura suspiciously. Hinata was also looking at her inquisitively.

Ino took a breath and continued. "I propose we make a pact. And don't get mad at me, but I never really see you guys interested in dating or that sort of thing and I think it would make us all more confident if we did it together."

"A pact about what?" probed Sakura, who was becoming annoyed.

"A pact to lose our virginity by the end of two weeks, no matter what. And it doesn't have to be anyone special and it doesn't have to mean anything. We just go to a bar and choose the guy who we think is the best looking one and let the rest unfold. You know, just to get it over with." Ino finished and looked up hopefully at Sakura and Hinata.

Much to Ino's surprise, Sakura did not immediately discourage her plan. In truth this was a matter that had been nagging in the back of Sakura's mind ever since a mission a month ago with her teammates.

It had been a simple enough mission: retrieve a stolen scroll from a mediocre shinobi located in another village and bring it back to Konaha. Unfortunately, the mission had gone awry when it was revealed that the formerly involved shinobi was actually working for a larger, much more dangerous, organization.

Team seven had believed the mission completed, but then Sakura was kidnapped. The enemy had captured Sakura and had cuffed her with chakra suppressing metal to deter her strength. They had thrown her in a cell and interrogated her until they were blue in the face from their effort of trying to pry information from a tight-lipped Sakura. They had promised to come back the next day with more "persuasion", which she took to mean that they were going to torture her. They had left her alone for the rest of the day, but then, in the middle of the night, she had heard the door of her cell scraping open before a very intoxicated enemy ninja had wobbled in and then proceeded to harshly tug her pants off.

Sakura, knowing what was coming, had kicked and screamed all she could from her cuffed position on the wall, but to no avail. As she felt his cold, dirty fingers scarping at her bare hips, Sakura had never before experienced such a feeling of hopeless desperation. She was still struggling before a loud boom was heard from the opposite the cell and a very pissed looking Sasuke had smashed through the wall, throwing Sakura's assailant into the opposite side of the little room that was her prison with the force of his arrival.

He had freed her from her cuffs and helped her up when the dazed shinobi Sasuke had struck out, momentarily straightened before Sakura had strode over and put a hole through his chest.

The memory still haunted Sakura and had left a lingering feeling of apprehension for when it came to missions. It had been so close.

Normally, Sakura was very confident in her prowess, but after this particular mission she understood that even the best kunoichi could not be invulnerable to such situations. Sakura eventually came to the same conclusions as Ino had; she didn't want her first time to be involuntary.

In her nineteen years of life, Sakura had not experienced many situations with the opposite sex of the romantic nature. All she could attest to was a sloppy kiss given to her at the age of seventeen by a clumsy boy. Her first kiss and that was pretty much it. It's not that she wasn't interested; Sakura knew she had a very hectic work schedule and she didn't have time to give much attention to the subject. It didn't help matters when a fairly attractive man came up to her to make small talk and all her teammates took turns glaring at him until he made excuses and scooted away with haste. Maintaining a relationship with her boys always hovering about was fairly impossible.

Sakura considered Ino's proposal. Knowing her overbearing teammates, this was probably the closest she was going to get. She didn't need all the fluff that came with the anticipation of the first time anyway—maybe all she needed was just to get it out of the way. After the fiasco that had been Sasuke's departure of the village and the struggle to finally bring him back to home, she had unknowingly, along the way, lost her romantic notions of love. It was only when she saw all her boys standing side-by-side that she realized the love she had towards Sasuke had evened out and balanced to equal that of which she felt towards her other teammates. Sakura just wasn't quite ready to determine how strong that love was or just what kind of love it was. It was damn near terrifying, so she decided to ignore it.

Ino looked at her with knowing eyes. Sakura had told her of the particular mission that caused conflict within her and she knew Ino saw that that was where Sakura's thoughts lay. In part, this was probably another reason Ino had suggested her plan.

"So?" Ino prompted.

_What the hell, _thought Sakura, shrugging internally. "Fine. I'm in."

Hinata gasped slightly and looked at Sakura; apparently, she had not been counting on Sakura to agree.

Sakura shrugged and said, "I'm not really waiting for anyone special and I had been thinking along the same lines as Ino-Pig… so, why not? It's always nice to have support from my friends with these sorts of things," she finished sarcastically, but with a hint of sincerity.

Hinata's eyebrows were scrunched up and her face was pinched into a look of confliction. Over the years, Hinata's feelings towards Naruto had mellowed out when she realized that he showed absolutely no hints of returning her love. Unrequited love certainly was harsh. So, after her realization, Hinata's eye had been caught by a teammate whose presence had been consistently present and supportive throughout her childhood. Sakura knew she had been paying more and more attention to Kiba and Sakura had cause to suspect something was brewing in between them, even if it was just one-sided for the moment. She saw the furtive glances Hinata threw his way whenever they were close, but she had decided not to comment upon it.

"Look, Hinata, don't let Ino intimidate you into doing something you don't want to." Sakura took Hinata's hand and squeezed it lightly, ignoring Ino's indignant "hey!". "Just do what feels right to you, okay?"

Hinata smiled gratefully at Sakura and said softly, "Okay."

Hinata took a deep breath, looked up at Sakura and Ino and said with determination, "I'm in, too."

"Are you sure?" asked Sakura.

Hinata gave her one firm nod.

"Yes!" Ino shouted enthusiastically, reaching over to give each Sakura and Hinata a quick hug. "I was thinking we go to the nightclub Friday and try our luck there." She gave Sakura a side-long, calculating glance and added, "Oh and Sakura? Remember I said by the end of two weeks, so if you're still a virgin by then, it means I won."

_So she's gonna take that route, _thought Sakura insightfully.

Sakura grinned wickedly at Ino. "It's on."

They stood up to depart, not knowing that all throughout their conversation, Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sai had been sitting in the booth adjacent listening with bewildered ears.

…

"Don't eat that, you'll spoil you're dinner," Sakura chastised Naruto, who was grabbing for a piece of rice cake that was to accompany their meal. He slinked away, which was odd for Naruto, since he usually stayed and groveled a bit until Sakura gave in. She shrugged and turned back to chopping the vegetables for her dish.

Now that she thought about it, they all had been acting off since they had arrived earlier in the evening for dinner. It made her uneasy. Every time Sakura addressed them and looked them directly in the eyes, they would hastily shift their gaze away from hers and to some other location. When she entered a room their conversation would go silent and they would tense abruptly as if being caught stealing a cookie. Sakura just guessed that they had had a row or something, so she put it out of her mind; she would find out later, anyways—one of them always spilled the beans.

"Dinner's ready!" She called out to the living room as she laid the final dish on the table.

Sai, Kakashi, Naruto, and Sasuke came ambling out of the living room and proceeded to seat themselves around the table. Sakura's table was round, so she ended up sitting in between Naruto and Sasuke.

Naruto turned to Sakura and said, "Thanks, Sakura-chan. This looks great!" He gave her a big smile that, Sakura noticed, twitched at the corners. The others mumbled their thanks, also.

"You're welcome." Sakura smiled back, ignoring the awkwardness in the air.

They were about finished with their meal when Kakashi turned asked Sakura, "So, dinner this Friday night again? It's Naruto's turn to cook."

Sakura scrunched up her nose. Whenever it was Naruto's turn to prepare food, he usually always made ramen with some kind of twist, refuting any nay-sayers and calling it a new dish. "Nah. I already made plans with Ino and Hinata this weekend. You guys are on your own."

Just as Sakura had finished her sentence Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sai tensed again.

Exasperated and fed up with their skittishness, Sakura burst out, "That's it! What the hell is wrong with you guys? All evening you've been acting skittish and odd! What is it? Did all of you get in a fight?"

Sakura shifted her gaze to look at each of them and not one turned their eyes to meet hers.

_"Well?"_ she prompted again.

"We heard," said Sasuke softly, addressing the opposite wall.

"Heard what?" Sakura impatiently replied.

Finally, each in turn shifted to look her directly in the eyes with a penetrating stare before Sasuke replied, "Pretty interesting conversation you were having yesterday in that restaurant."

Sakura's eyes widened slightly before she moved her gaze to look down at the table. She tilted her head forward a bit, so her pink locks covered her face and her look of utter alarm.

_Shit! _Sakura panicked. _Mega shit! Fuck! How the hell did they even hear?_

Sakura collected herself and spoke in a hopefully convincing and innocent voice, "I have no idea what you're talking about." _Ha!_ She could have patted herself on the back with how calm she sounded—she hadn't even stuttered once.

"You know," Kakashi said in a voice that carried an undertone of danger, "you've always been a really bad liar, there's no point in denying it."

"Don't try to bullshit your way out of this one," Sasuke added calmly.

Fuck that. Sakura was definitely going to bullshit her way outta this one with all her might.

"Just tell us the truth, please," Naruto voiced in a kinder tone. Sai nodded in agreement.

A slight tautness had appeared on Sakura's shoulders as she replied, "I really have no idea what you guys are talking about. You're confusing me."

"Apparently we're going to have to do this the hard way," Kakashi cleared his throat and continued, "Shall I quote Ino's suggestion from last night? I believe it went somewhere along the lines of 'Let's make a pact to lose—"

He was unexpectedly cut off as Sakura abruptly stood up. She suggested in a voice that was two octave's higher than normal, "Are we all finished eating?" Not waiting for a reply, she hastily grabbed at the plates occupying the table. "I'll go wash them." Sakura turned and practically sprinted into her kitchen, which offered her shelter from the tension in her living room.

_So much for bullshitting my way out of that one, _Sakura thought glumly as she clutched at the kitchen countertop with white fingers. It wasn't her fault! She'd like to see someone withstand that kind of pressure from four, extremely powerful and insisting shinobi. It's a miracle she hadn't immediately cracked under the strain!

_Assholes, _she thought sourly.

Now the dilemma: Sakura was going to have to eventually go out to face them and their nosiness, so what to do?

Sakura postulated.

She brightened when she figured out exactly what she should have said to them from the start—very simple solution, really. Sakura would just tell them _to mind their own goddam business._ Easy.

With this intention in mind, Sakura stocked back out into the living room only to find Kakashi, Naruto, Sai, and Sasuke lined up side-by-side like one impressive defensive front, waiting for battle. She wavered slightly, but found her resolve.

"So?" Kakashi cocked an eyebrow, waiting for a reply.

"Since you won't drop it," Sakura replied, putting steal in her voice, "my answer is this: _Mind your own goddamn business."_ She crossed her arms and looked stubbornly up at her teammates who expressed some shock at her response. "Now, if you would all be so kind as to get the hell out of my apartment…"

"No," Sai said, echoing her stubbornness.

Sakura was starting to get pissed of now. She gritted her teeth. "_Don't make me force you."_

"We need to talk about this, Sakura," Naruto spoke.

"Tell me, what is there to talk about?" She was really getting riled up now. Somehow, she ended up spilling what had been bothering her for some time. "How about the fact that you probably already guessed that I was a virgin, judging by the fact that all of you are always smothering me! You won't even let one man so much as look at me before you start calling out for his blood! But _noo _I always see one of you out with a woman practically hanging of your arm, what the fuck kind of logic is that? If I wanted to be constantly supervised I would have moved back in with my parents!" She was breathing heavily by now and she paused to calm herself. Sakura took in a deep breath and finished softly, "What the hell do you want from me?"

Sakura looked up to see the bewildered faces of her teammates due to her outburst. They had clearly not expected _that _confession_._

_Good, _Sakura thought. _Maybe they'll let it be._

They still had not spoken and probably wouldn't for a while, guessing by the various states of shock that she could discern running across their faces.

Sakura sighed. "Look, I have every intention of seeing this through and you're not going to do anything to change that. I can't believe we're even having this conversation, so why don't you all just leave and we'll pretend this didn't happen?" she suggested hopefully.

Kakashi seemed to be the first one to shake off his stupor. "No dice."

"Sakura, we…" Naruto trailed off, unsure of what to say. Sasuke and Sai said nothing, but looked on with determination—her accusations seemed not to have fazed them at all.

Sakura let out a frustrated huff and crossed her arms; neither of them was backing down and each one had enough stubbornness to last them till judgment day.

"So, where does this leave us now?" Sakura asked as she glanced back up at her teammates. She was weary with their pigheadedness.

"That's easy," said Kakashi coolly (he seemed to be the spokesman of the group), "we'd like you to choose one of us."

**A/N:** So? What'd ya think? I really like leaving off on cliffhangers, I'm sorry.

P.S. I had this chapter our early because it was written along with the first one. I can't promise the next one will be out so early because college is gross and time-consuming. I will seriously try to update at least once a week, though!

I'm glad I'm not the only one who roots for reverse harems. Heheheheh.

Constructive and/or nice reviews are always appreciated ^_^


	3. I Walk the Line

**A/N:** Hello, again! Might I just say that I really love Johnny Cash's voice? Yes. (Seriously though, this song is good.) Also, this chapter starts off really angsty, so be prepared.

I just gotta say that I really enjoy reading all your reviews! You're all so nice :3

(I only edited once, so fair warning: Proofreading errors galore in this chapter.)

Enjoy!

I Walk the Line

_"I keep a close watch on this heart of mine_

_I keep my eyes wide open all the time"_

- "I Walk the Line"

Johnny Cash

Sakura's jaw clicked open from shock and her arms dropped limply to her sides.

Did she hear him correctly?

The feeling of trepidation that had been following her all morning finally unfolded. Actually, Sakura would be lying to herself if she convinced herself it was just this morning. This feeling had been present for a while, but she had perfected the art of ignoring issues that weren't immediately pertinent and in doing so, had suppressed certain feelings that scared the living shit out of her. She should have paid heed to the numerous signs and taken action.

Sakura disregarded when Kakashi mused her hair, only to trail his hand lovingly down to cup her cheek after. She paid no attention to Naruto's lingering kisses on her head or cheek that, overtime, started to become less and less platonic and more personal. (Sakura knew that Naruto had claimed to love her since they were children, but she had thought nothing more of it than a childhood crush.) She overlooked Sai's steadily increasing excuses to hug her tightly to himself. Sakura made no intricate meanings of the occasions when Sasuke's touch on her arm or shoulder remained just a little too long to be called appropriate.

She had allowed it all.

She had been too content with the way things were and had prayed they wouldn't change.

She was a fool.

It had been siting like a ticking time bomb in between the five of them, just waiting to explode and tarnish everything. Sakura should not have allowed those dawdling touches and affections—they had proven to be too dangerous and unstable. She should have drawn the line in deep, charcoal black. She should have made the boundaries as bright and unavoidable as a raging fire.

_Should a' could a', Sakura,_ she whispered to herself.

Now she was going to have to weather the storm.

"That's a funny joke, Kakashi," Sakura said in a hushed voice, with no hint of amusement.

"It's not a joke," he replied, just as seriously.

Sakura felt four pairs of eyes boring into her.

She swallowed. "And…and did all of you agree to this?" Sakura asked, receiving four nods in return.

"Sakura, we do not want a stranger to hurt you," Sai added with sincerity.

She suspected he was referring to the more physical part of the problem and not the emotional. Any stranger that she might meet would probably not be gentle, especially with a few drinks behind him. Sakura no longer gave her heart out easily anymore, so that wasn't the issue. She had learned her lesson. She supposed they just thought that they were doing her a favor by looking out for her or maybe they just couldn't stand the thought of her being with another man. Either way, she was still extremely pissed and embarrassed, which only served to further her anger.

"I'm not stupid," she said through gritted teeth, "and I decline the offer and once again tell you to mind your own business. I don't want to hear any more of this."

"We don't accept that," Sasuke argued, just as calm as ever.

_"So, what you're saying is that it's either you or no one is it?" _Sakura accused in a rising voice.

Naruto had the decency to look ashamed and even Sai looked somewhat uncomfortable. Kakashi and Sasuke met her glare head-on, neither backing down.

"Yes," Sasuke replied with finality.

Sakura backtracked. Something was coming and she couldn't stop it.

She couldn't raise her voice above a whisper now. "You're going to cross a line that we won't be able to come back from," Sakura warned.

"Sakura we—," Naruto started.

_Here it comes._

"Don't!" She tried to stop his next words, knowing they would diminish the already crumbling line to dust.

Naruto trudged on"—love you. And not in the normal teammate to teammate way either."

There it is.

Sakura inhaled sharply and looked down at her feet, not braving to look her boys in the eyes.

"You just crossed that line," she whispered.

They said nothing.

"_Get out,"_ she commanded.

"Sakura—," Kakashi started, alarmed with the anger in her voice.

Naruto and Sai started towards her, probably to comfort her, but she raised her head and held up her hand and to stop their advancement.

_"Don't," _Sakura said again in a shaking voice.

They stopped in their tracks, hurt and guilt crossing their faces. Sasuke looked on and knew better than to approach her, but there was a storm brewing behind his onyx eyes.

_"Out," _she repeated.

They made no move to leave.

Sakura walked over to her door with shaky legs—passing very close to Kakashi, feeling the warmth he exuded and flinching—and wrenched it open. The cold night air caressed her face unforgivably and filled her lungs with ice.

_"Leave," _she repeated one last time.

They left.

Sakura closed the door softly and walked over to her couch before her legs gave out and she sat with a thump. She buried her face in her hands and exhaled loudly.

"Dammit."

…

Sakura wasn't angry with them. No, she was furious with herself.

Now that she had been forced into it—into opening the doors that she had nailed shut inside her mind—she couldn't deny that she hadn't craved the caresses and touches just as much as they had. She had even instigated some of the affections. Sakura had ignored the issue until she no longer could. The realization had hit her like a ton of boulders.

She loved them, too, and it was overwhelming.

For so long now—she didn't even know when it had started—Sakura had been repressing what she was forced to confront now. She and her teammates had been precariously traipsing on the thin line that had friendship on one side and an apprehensive unknown on the other. Only now she knew what lay on the other side…and it was frightening as much as it was alluring.

What this was—whatever this was—it couldn't be. It was an impossibility that tore at her heart, like two rabid dogs fighting for a piece of meat. Sakura knew that once she acknowledged these feelings, there would be no turning back, so she hadn't examined them. They were dangers best left alone.

They were impossible.

How could she have fallen in love with the four of them?

Well, that was a stupid question, of course she knew how.

The bigger question was how could she have fallen in love with them, when she _knew _she could never pick between Kakashi, Sai, Naruto, and Sasuke?

Pick between Kakashi, who was her wisdom when she doubted and worried? Pick Naruto, who was her sun when there was rain? Or Sasuke who was her rock when she wavered? And Sai, who existed as her reassurance that people could learn despite the horrible encounters this world held?

Pick between _that?_

Never. She'd sooner tear out her own heart.

Sakura was _so angry_ that she had allowed these feelings to grow when she knew the consequences. When Sakura had told herself that her first time didn't have to be anyone special, she had ignored the fact that it just couldn't be one of _them._ And now she knew why. In her mind she saw them standing alongside one another, each beckoning with a raised hand… but there was only one of her.

And she couldn't pick.

Sakura had agreed to Ino's plan because she subconsciously (but maybe not all _that_ unknowingly) thought she could somehow find relief from these feelings, congealing at the edge of her awareness. She had so foolishly deluded herself to the possibility of forgetting her growing awareness of her love, if she could only smother her emotions with another man. The feelings would have faded eventually, right?

Wrong.

Possibly, when Sakura had seen her boys out with another woman, they had been trying to do the same?

It didn't matter anymore; Sakura loved them all and now Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sai had put their intentions out in the open.

There was no going back. The line had been obliterated.

…

"Forehead!" A familiar shout reached her from the end of the hospital hallway.

After taking a long, hot shower last night, Sakura had tried to push all the conflicted feelings out of her mind and gone to bed. After lying in bed she had tried to calm herself, but then her right leg had started to twitch…and then her left leg followed. And then she had gotten cold. Sakura had angrily gone to go get a blanket to cover herself, but the blanket was too thick, so she ended up being too hot. Sakura knew she had a shift at the hospital the next day and all the fidgeting had burned away three hours of the night. The clock had been a blaring reminder that it was late and she had, as a last resort, considered knocking herself out with a chakra induced punch. Sakura was sure it would hurt less than the thoughts running wild within her mind. She was dreading running into her boys tomorrow after what had happened.

What had transpired after was a night of restless shifting about, while Sakura twisted to-and-fro, trying to find a comfortable position. But it was to no avail; she hadn't gotten a wink of sleep, which resulted in an extremely temperamental Sakura in the morning. The nurses practically somersaulted out of her way when she stalked by, a haze of grouchiness encompassing her form.

It was with a scowl that she turned to meet Ino who was closing in on her with an almost equivalent glower that could rival Sakura's. Hinata was trailing nervously behind her.

"What?" she snapped. "And stop yelling! It's a hospital for crying out loud!"

"We need to talk," Ino said seriously, taking her arm.

Sakura assessed whether it would be easier to kick Ino out or give her what she wanted. Sakura sighed. "Okay, follow me." It would be easier to comply than to resist. The sooner she talked to her, the sooner she would be gone. Sakura _was not_ in the mood to entertain.

Sakura shook Ino's grasp on her shoulder off and lead her and Hinata into an unused hospital room. Sakura closed the door and turned to look at Ino. "What is it?"

_"Did you tell them?"_ Ino angrily accused.

Sakura was taken aback—she hadn't expected a verbal assault.

"Tell who? And what?" asked a confused Sakura.

"_Your teammates? About our plan?" _ she replied exasperatedly and continued, "Shikamaru and Choji came up to me yesterday and they knew all about it! Apparently, Team 7 told them all about our agreement and they told Kiba and Shino, too!" Hinata stood, fidgeting with her hands, looking between Ino and Sakura.

_Oh, _Sakura comprehended. _Damn them! They had to get everyone involved!_ She went to set the record straight with Ino.

"No!" she hissed. "They overheard at the restaurant—probably because you're so damn loud!"

Ino paled and her mouth dropped open in a soft _o._

"Yeah!" Sakura poked Ino in the chest. "So stop blaming me!" she sobered when she thought of the night before. "They confronted me about it, too."

Ino closed her mouth and looked at Sakura then studied her hands. "Oh." She looked up at Sakura again and asked hesitantly, "So…so what did they say?"

Sakura blushed and looked away. "Umm…nothing much. Yours?"

Ino narrowed her eyes at Sakura. "Liar. I bet they freaked out. Mine did—well, Shikamaru, mostly. I didn't really know he had it in him to freak out—he just went silent and stared at me for what felt like forever, that's major freaking out for him. Choji just tried to shuffle quietly out of the room. Hinata's did the same."

Sakura looked to Hinata and she nodded and said softly, "Kiba's the one who was the most out-spoken. Shino just glowered at me. It was really uncomfortable."

_You can say that again, _Sakura thought sarcastically.

Sakura looked down at her hands and asked casually, "So…was that it?"

Hinata's face turned tomato-red and she looked down at her feet and started stuttering. "U-u-mm, well they kind of offered…to w-well um…"

_Oh no, _Sakura thought, _she's stuttering._

Ino exhaled and came to Hinata's rescue. "They offered themselves as choices. Actually, they were pretty insistent about it. I know because Shikamaru did the same. Choji was just kinda mortified with the whole thing and stood there. How about you? Your teammates are worse than mine and you have four tailing you."

Sakura grudgingly admitted what had happened last night, conveniently omitting the part that had her sleep-deprived.

"I don't know what to do," Sakura finished, "What are you guys going to do?"

Hinata had still not looked up. She was nervously twirling her hair as she responded to Sakura's question. "I-I was thinking that, well… it wasn't such a bad option."

Sakura knew that Hinata was probably overjoyed with Kiba's proposal—she had desired an opening for so long and now she had one. Sakura was happy for her.

Sakura walked over to Hinata, untangled her hair from her hand, gave it a soft squeeze and smiled kindly at her. "That's great, Hinata! But—" Sakura was such a hypocrite, "—maybe you should tell him how you feel before? I don't think he would be unhappy about it. Trust me."

Hinata looked surprised for a moment before she smiled brightly and gave Sakura a firm nod. "You're right," she said confidently.

Sakura turned to Ino. "How about you?"

Ino shrugged and picked at her nails. "Well, Shikamaru knows that he can't stop me if I decided otherwise, but…I don't think it's such a bad idea, either." She looked sincerely up at Sakura. "I know I said it was just sex, but now that they've offered, well, I'd rather it be him."

Sakura wondered if Ino was harboring some conflicted feelings of her own.

Sakura sighed. _So much for their pact._ "So I guess it's just me left."

Ino guffawed, "I don't know what you're complaining about—you have some of the sexiest shinobi on your team. Any other girl would have said yes right away and be foaming at the mouth. Lucky bitch."

"I didn't want to complicate things in between us!" Sakura angrily retorted, even though things were pretty much complicated beyond recognition now.

"Anyways—" Ino ignored Sakura's angry outburst, looked up at her with half-lidded eyes and smirked, "—half the village already thinks you're fucking already. That's why I asked you if you were a virgin—I wasn't sure."

Sakura's mouth dropped open in horror. "_They do not!_" she squeaked.

Ino nodded. "You're just always—" she clasped her hands to exemplify her meaning, _"—together."_

Abruptly, the smirk dissolved off of Ino's face and she looked up at Sakura with sympathy. She put her hand consolingly on Sakura's shoulder and said, "Look Sakura, I know, okay? I've seen you guys together and I _know. _Don't beat yourself up about it and maybe just try to go with the flow. You never know, things might work out."

Sakura closed her mouth and smiled at her friend in appreciation. "Thanks, pig." She sighed. "I'm kind of worried about seeing them again after what happened last night, though."

"Oh, I forgot to tell you," Hinata spoke up, "your teammates went on a mission. Kiba told me that he saw them leaving in the morning."

Sakura was a little bit relived because she could avoid the problem for longer…but she was also hurt. Ever since Sasuke had come back, all five of them had always been inseparable when it came to missions. And now, they hadn't even told her they were leaving. Sakura guessed that they thought she was _really _mad and wanted to give her some time, but it still hurt. Their relationship was already starting to change.

"Did Kiba mention if they told him when they'd be back?" Sakura asked.

Hinata shook her head.

"Okay, thanks for telling me," Sakura said, then looked at the clock mounted on the wall. "If we're done, I need to get back to work."

Ino nodded and the three of them walked back out into the hallway.

"I'll be with you in a moment, Mrs. Takahashi," Sakura called to her next patient, who was coughing into a napkin.

Ino made a face and turned to Sakura. "I'll see you later, Forehead. Remember what I said." She turned and started to walk away. Hinata waved at Sakura and turned to follow Ino, but before they made it to the end of the hallway Ino turned back and reminded Sakura in a sly voice, "Sakura, don't forget the race is still on. By the end of two weeks, remember?"

"_Wha—_but—?" Sakura spluttered, but she didn't get to finish because Ino grinned and said "two weeks!" in a chirpy voice before disappearing at the turn of the corridor, dragging a half-amused, half-exasperated Hinata behind her.

Sakura had to remember to punch Ino in the face next time she saw her.

**A/N: **Dear readers, it is the calm before the storm for me. Finals are a malicious, looming presence behind my back. I'll try to get as much writing done before things get really hectic, and hopefully, I'll get out another chapter before I fall into the dismal void of studying.

Good luck to anyone else who has upcoming finals!

Anyways, what did you guys think of the chapter? I recall that there was a bit of concern that Sakura was gonna have to pick? Don't fret, I promised a reverse harem and so it shall be, it's just gonna take a different route ;)

Constructive and/or nice reviews are always appreciated ^_^


	4. Should I Stay or Should I Go

**A/N: **Hello! Your nice reviews are wonderful and make my day, thank you :D

I would have had this chapter out yesterday, but I went to go see The Hobbit on Friday (aklakjsldjsahds it was good) and I didn't have time to write, which set my schedule back a bit. So here it is and it's a little longer for you lovely readers!

Chapter four is brought to you by The Clash.

Enjoy!

Should I Stay or Should I Go

_"Darling you gotta let me know_

_Should I stay or should I go?_

_If you say that you are mine_

_I'll be here 'til the end of time_

_So you gotta let me know_

_Should I stay or should I go?"_

- "Should I Stay or Should I Go"

The Clash

_"Psst._ Ino, over here!"

Ino was walking out of Sakura's apartment Saturday evening, two days after their conversation in the hospital, when she heard a harsh whisper, presumably emanating from a large green bush next to the apartment complex; she cautiously tip-toed closer to peer behind it. What she uncovered was Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke (well not Sauske, he would never be caught ducking behind a bush) and Sai, crouching behind the leafy greens, trying to be as inconspicuous as four towering shinobi could be underneath a plant.

"Umm…what are you guys doing?" asked a baffled Ino.

It was Naruto who spoke up. "Did you just come from visiting Sakura?" he asked.

_"Yeah," _Ino answered, still confused as to why they were being so sneaky. She remembered they had been on a mission and she guessed that they had probably just returned.

"Is she still really mad?" he added. The other three were staring at her intently, awaiting her answer.

_Ah, so that was it,_ she thought, the clogs turning in her brain. Ino thought she'd help out Sakura a bit.

"No, but she's _really_ sick,"—well that wasn't a lie, she was sick, Ino was only exaggerating a tiny bit—"she can't even get out of bed. I was helping her out, but unfortunately, I can't stay all day—I have to go help at the flower shop. You should go check in on her. She might need something," Ino finished in a pseudo concerned voice. Ino wasn't a bad friend, though; she had made sure Sakura was comfortable before she left.

That was all it took. They shot off, like a rocket towards Sakura's apartment, with only a hurried "thanks" to Ino as they passed.

Ino grinned. _You're welcome, Sakura._

…

Sakura was in hell.

Her throat burned and it felt like it had been replaced by a long strip of sandpaper whenever she dared swallow. Her nasal passageways were congested and as a result, she couldn't get in a breath through her nose. Her only recourse was to breathe through her mouth, but that wasn't such a pleasant option either; every time she took even one small gasp of air, she would end up coughing until her lungs nearly made an appearance. Too bad breathing was a necessity.

Ino had tried to feed her soup, but Sakura had made a fuss of not eating anything. Every time Ino came near her with a spoon-full of noodles, Sakura would turn her head into her pillows and grunt. Ino had eventually given up and fed her fever medication instead. Sakura very much preferred those; they knocked her out for a few blissful hours.

_Damn you, Mrs. Takahashi, _Sakura cursed as she pulled the covers tighter around her frame.

After giving her ill patient an examination two days prior, Sakura had started to feel off. Following a quick check-up with Tsunade when her shift ended, she had taken notice of Sakura's condition and immediately sent her home to rest. The result was a miserable Sakura two days later, lying in her bed, with fluffy socks covering her feet and her favorite tank-top and sweatpants pajama combo.

She was starting to drift off when there was an impatient knocking at her front door.

Sakura groaned and turned over. She guessed that it was just Ino who had forgotten something, but that was odd, since Ino knew where she hid her spare key. Her fever pills were starting to kick in and she felt a bit out of it, so she ignored the incessant knocking and tried to go back to sleep. Whoever it was could just come back another day. She figured if it was that important they would knock down the door or smoke her out or something.

The knocking stopped.

Sakura sighed in relief and snuggled closer into her blankets, but then she heard her doorknob being shuffled around and her door being pushed open.

_Ah,_ thought Sakura, _it was Ino._

"Sakura?" Naruto's familiar voice called.

Her eyes shot open in horror. _Oh, shit._ Sakura contemplated jumping out her window to make an escape. She lifted her head a fraction off her pillows and immediately deleted that option when the room started spinning before her. Sakura knew that she would have to face them eventually, but she had managed to ignore the issue until it arose. Too bad it had to arise when she was doped out.

"Don't come in," she croaked, "I'm sick." That small effort of speech set off a terrible bout of coughing that nearly made Sakura puke.

Of course, this only sent them hurrying to her room faster. She heard four pairs of feet coming down her short hallway, towards her. Sakura pulled up the blanket and covered her face before they opened the door to her small room and came in.

She heard them shuffling around her bed and by the way her bed dipped slightly, one of them had sat down next to her.

"I told you not to come in, you're going to get sick, too," Sakura wheezed from under the covers.

She felt the covers being tugged at, but she held on fast and didn't let go.

Kakashi sighed next to her. "We heard that you were sick and we wanted to make sure you didn't need anything." He pulled at the covers again. "Sakura, can you let me see your face? Please?" He tugged again, but to no avail. "Do you have a fever? Have you eaten?"

Sakura chose not to answer: they might try to feed her soup, too.

She felt the other side of the bed—the side pushed up against the wall—and the space by her feet slant, too, indicating that two more of them had occupied her bed. More tugging ensued from the left-hand occupant.

"Sakura, come on," she heard Naruto say from her left side.

She still hadn't let go. It wasn't that she looked completely horrid—her and her teammates had seen each other in worse situations, covered in blood and dirt, looking absolutely frightening plenty of times—she just didn't want to bring herself to face the problem when she was so nobbled.

"We have seen your face without make-up before, it is not significantly uglier than with it on, so do not worry and let us help you with your illness," Sai commented from somewhere near her feet.

Sakura was satisfied to hear a hand whipping through the air to smack Sai firmly on the head.

"Shut up, idiot," Sasuke muttered.

Still, Sakura remained stubbornly under her blankets until she felt them lifted from her legs and a warm hand slipping under to softly tickle at the underside of her feet.

Sakura started in surprise and inhaled sharply, causing another coughing spell and giving Kakashi enough time to pull the covers from her face.

When her ordeal was finished, she glared down at Sai who was looking innocently back at her from the foot of the bed. Sasuke was next to him, Naruto to the left of her, and Kakashi to the right—all were gazing at her with worried expressions.

"I told you you're going to get sick," she rasped, reminding them.

"We don't care," Kakashi retorted immediately.

Sakura sighed. "Don't feed me soup, please."

Kakashi looked at her quizzically, then shook his head and asked again, "Have you eaten anything?"

"Pills," she answered.

Naruto reached over and felt her forehead with the backside of his hand. "She has a fever, Kakashi-sensei," he observed worryingly.

Kakashi's hand replaced Naruto's and he nodded in agreement. "Yeah."

"What should we do?" Sasuke questioned—Sakura was the usually the one these types of questions were directed at.

"You said you already took medication?" Kakashi inquired of Sakura.

She nodded and added, "But…but I think Ino might have given me the ones that were…" Sakura was feeling drowsy and her words had started to slur, she couldn't think of the right word for a moment, "…expired," she finally remembered. The medication should not have had such a profound effect on her from what she remembered, and when dealing with expired medication the effect could either be too strong or not at all. It seemed that they had taken the first route.

"Where were you guys?" Sakura whispered eyes half-lidded with sleep.

"We went on a mission," Naruto softly answered back, reaching to hold her hand, "sorry we didn't tell you."

Sakura dipped her chin once to show that she understood and forgave them.

Kakashi made to get up and started speaking, "I'm afraid there's not much we can do except wait until her fever breaks and maybe try to calm her cough. Sasuke, could you go make her some tea with honey and lemon? And Sai can you make sure the heater is on? She can't be covered too much, but I don't want her to get co—"

"No," Sakura stopped them before they could get up. Somewhere in her addled brain she knew she shouldn't be asking this because of what had happened, but she had missed them so. Sakura kept going, "can you—can you just stay for a little while?...Please?"

Just before she drifted off into sleep, Sakura felt Naruto, Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sai settle down around her.

…

Sakura woke up momentarily in the middle of the night, during her drug-induced slumber to find her boys sleeping peacefully around her.

Naruto was still to the left of her, head alongside hers and now lightly embracing her entire arm. Kakashi was to her right and had one arm slipped under her head as a makeshift pillow because Naruto was hogging her actual one. On her stomach, resting his head was Sai, who had made room for himself in between Kakashi and herself. Sasuke was a bit further down, using the long bump that was her leg under the blankets as a cushion. They all exuded a wonderful warmth—a warmth that, until now, she hadn't known she'd been missing.

Sakura smiled slightly and fell back into a dreamless sleep.

…

"She said she didn't want soup!" a voice hissed.

"Well, what else are we supposed to feed her?" another irate voice whispered back.

"Be quiet, you two—you're going to wake her up," a third voice added.

"I shall make her tea," a calmer voice intoned.

_Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, and Sai, _Sakura thought groggily, as she came to.

She sat up to find her bed empty and her door open so their banter could come drifting in. She felt marginally better after last night's restful sleep, and as a bonus, breathing through her nose was now a possibility.

Sakura briefly recalled what had happened last night in her daze and a few hazy memories of her sluggishness rose to the surface of her mind. She hoped she hadn't done anything embarrassing that she couldn't remember yet.

Because of her state the night before, she hadn't got around to actually thinking of what she was going to say to them once she was lucid again…

…Well, now the time had come and she still had no clue. Sakura supposed she would walk casually out there and get a feel for the environment and work from there.

Sakura shrugged. That plan was going to have to do until she could think of another better one, but she had come to one decision during the last two days—she just wasn't quite sure how to bring the matter up.

She got up and headed to the bathroom that was attached to her room to wipe the sleep crusties from her eyes and fix the matted nest that her pink locks had become. Once she was decent, Sakura headed out into her living room to find Naruto and Sai ambling around her kitchen, Sasuke standing off to the side, observing, and Kakashi sitting at her table, reading.

Naruto and Sai walked out once they heard her arrival, Sasuke turned and Kakashi looked up from his book as she entered.

Sakura cleared her still somewhat swollen throat and said, "Good morning."

"It's five in the afternoon," Kakashi informed.

Shocked, Sakura looked out a window to find the sun almost close to setting and the street lights beginning to flare. It was the pills, they had her disoriented.

"Oh," she said.

"How are you feeling?" Sasuke asked, eyeing her.

"Better, thank you," Sakura responded automatically.

"That's good," Naruto said with a small smile.

"I made you tea," Sai said, indicating a steaming green mug held in his hands. He set it down on the table and pulled out a chair, signifying that he wanted her to sit.

They were all being so formal.

She hated it.

"Thank you," she said again as she sat down next to Kakashi. The rest settled themselves down around her table with various foods. Naruto was munching on a piece of toast and he offered her one when he saw her looking, but she shook her head and sipped her tea instead. It was pretty good. The honey and lemon added in the liquid soothed her aching throat.

While she was finishing off her tea, Sakura saw each of them throwing her furtive glances that unnerved her just as much as their formalities. This wasn't how they were or how she wanted them to be. It was ruining their relationship and the problem wasn't going to disappear if she ignored it; there was no going back.

Sakura had to say something.

"Look," she set her mug down and swirled her left thumb around the ring nervously, "I—I'm not mad—well, not at you guys anyway, but that doesn't matter anymore, I guess, so umm," Sakura kept her gaze stuck to the mug in her anxious hands. She took a deep breath and continued, even though there were warning bells inside her head, "I've been thinking—"

_You can still stop, Sakura._

"—about what we talked about—"

_Shut up, before it's too late!_

"—before you left and I've decided to—"

_Last chance._

"—I've decided to… accept your offer."

_Too late._

The room went stock-still. It was so quiet she could hear each beat of her pounding heart. Sakura didn't dare look up. Her cheeks were on fire.

"Sakura, are you—" Naruto started, but she cut him off with a raised hand.

"Let me finish. I accept…under two conditions," Sakura almost rolled her eyes—this whole thing sounded like one big business deal, "One is that there will be no more of _this,_" she waved her hand around to indicate the awkwardness and distance surrounding them, "it feels wrong. And two—"

Sakura finally looked up with pained eyes and said to the four men watching her intently, "—I don't want to pick."

She saw Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, and Sai digesting what she'd just said.

A minute passed, they still had not said a word and their heavy stares made her squirm uncomfortably.

Sakura swallowed.

"Could you say something? You're making me uncom—" Sakura started, eyes darting to each of them when she could no longer stand the silence.

Sasuke interrupted her, "Then how do you plan on choosing?"

Sakura held up a finger, "That's just it—I'm not choosing."

"How will we go about this, if that is the case?" Sai asked puzzled.

Sakura had a momentary out-of-body experience of the ludicrousness of the situation she was in before shaking her head and saying, "I don't know. I was thinking you could decide, but that's probably a _very_ bad idea, all of you are extremely stubborn, so," she shrugged her shoulders and started messing with the mug again, "maybe a draw out of a hat or something…"

Sasuke snorted.

"You think of a better idea then!" Sakura said crossly.

"How about you just pick?" Sasuke retorted matter-of-factly.

"No!" she refused and glared heatedly at him.

"Why?" Sasuke challenged, eyes never leaving hers.

Sakura's heart skipped a beat. "Because."

Sasuke opened his mouth to respond, but Kakashi intercepted him, "Stop it, Sasuke."

The air was filled with tension.

Naruto turned his soft blue gaze to Sakura and said, "Are you sure, Sakura? I know we upset you the other day and we really are sorry. Sasuke is, too, even though he's being an ass about it—" Sasuke crossed his arms and glowered at the table, but he didn't deny what Naruto had said, "—and we thought that it probably wasn't the best idea to have told you the way we did so suddenly, but now that it's out, well…" he trailed off, looking down at his hands.

A lump formed in Sakura's throat. She couldn't stand the way he was looking down sadly at his hands, as if he had done something wrong, so she stood up and went to go gently embrace him and give him a small peck on his head and said "I'm sure". He responded immediately by wrapping his arms around her and burying his nose in Sakura's neck. After that, she went around and did the same for Kakashi, Sai and Sasuke (who she squeezed a little harder than was necessary), receiving similar responses from all.

When Sakura was finished she remembered that she needed to remind them of something. She stood behind her chair and said in a firm and threatening voice, "But I wanted to make it known that, if I had wanted another option," she put steel in her gaze and looked at each of them straight in the eyes, "_I would have had it. _Are we clear?" Sakura needed to reassure them of her authority to run her own life.

Sakura saw Kakashi, Naruto, Sai, and Sasuke swallow under her frightening stare and nod once.

She smiled brightly and said, "Good. Now, I'm going to go take a shower and we can decide on _that _matter when I get out."

Everyone nodded and relaxed; Kakashi had even gotten his book out again, but he paused and said in a suggestive voice, "Is that an invitation?"

Sakura blushed furiously and stomped out of the living room, shouting irately behind her, "Don't start that already!"

…

"I can't believe we're doing this out of a hat," Sasuke grumbled.

After Sakura had gotten out of the shower, a decision had been made. The majority had agreed that drawing from a hat would be the best and most fair course. Sasuke had been the only one who had disputed the agreement, but in the end, he had consented. They had each written their name on a torn piece of paper and placed it in a hat Sakura had taken out of her closet.

Sai stared at him. "We should respect Sakura's wishes, Ass."

Sakura sensed an impending quarrel and cleared her throat loudly, which caused her to cough harshly—an unintended desire—that luckily caught the attention of the two annoyed shinobi, who forgot their dispute.

When Sakura gained her breath again, a thought came to her. "Wait, Sai, have you ever…?" she raised her eyebrows at him hoping he gather context clues, so she didn't have to say it out loud and make this even more awkward.

Out of all her boys, Sai had never really been one to linger among the ladies. Sakura saw that they stared, but he never indicated any interest. Sakura considered that due to his upbringing, he might not have known and/or expressed much interest in sex. Being enforced at an early age not to feel any emotions left him lacking in social formalities and intimate ones too, so much so, that Sakura thought he wouldn't know how to go about it. Sai was a quick learner, but she wasn't sure how far his education in _that _department had come. He certainly seemed interested enough now, so she was left wondering.

Sai quirked an eyebrow, "Had sex? Yes, I have"

Sakura sensed that her teammates were involved somehow. "One of you had something to do with this, I'm sure," she said, addressing Kakashi, Naruto, and Sasuke.

Sasuke wouldn't meet her accusing gaze and Naruto looked guilty, which told her all she needed to know.

Kakashi shrugged. "It was a group effort. We decided to enlighten Sai in that particular area about two years ago."

Sai nodded and explained, "They brought me to a bar and gave me a few drinks. After a time, the girl who is employed down at the fruit stand at the market approached me with very enthusiastic hands. I had done a bit of research on the subject and the rest Kakashi informed me of, but I was not expecting her to drag me to her house and jump me. It was very pleasant—"

"That's enough!" Sakura hastily stopped him before he could give a full, detailed account of the proceedings—she didn't need to know. She had a sudden realization. "No wonder she always glares at me when I go buy fruit."

"I suppose it was my fault for not informing her that I did not desire a relationship beyond what we shared that night…and a few other nights as well," Sai added with a thoughtful air.

Sakura made a face; Kakashi, Naruto, and Sasuke had gotten their pervy hands on Sai and corrupted him, as well.

_Bastards, _Sakura thought sourly. Sai had always been her innocent one.

"Whatever," Sakura waved it off. "Let's just get this over with."

They all stood in front of her, while Naruto stuck out the hat containing the papers towards her.

Sakura stared at it apprehensively, biting her lip. She stretched her hand out tentatively and then hesitated. "Maybe—"

"Sakura," Kakashi said, looking her directly in the eyes.

She nodded, reached her hand inside the hat once more and pulled out a piece of paper.

Sakura unfolded it with trembling hands and bated breath, only to read it, crumple it up and throw it at Naruto.

"That's not funny!" She yelled indignantly. Naruto had written all the four names of her teammates (including his) on the slip of paper that she had grabbed.

Naruto chuckled and the other three had similar looks of mirth on their faces.

Sakura, red-faced and irritated, reached angrily into the hat once again and roughly snatched out another paper. She opened it, looked down and promptly folded the paper again.

Her annoyance had abruptly disappeared. This slip had a single name on it.

She clasped her hands together, with the paper in between them and looked up. Kakashi, Sasuke, Naruto, and Sai were looking at her keenly, waiting for an answer.

"Umm, I'll tell the person on this piece of paper tomorrow…alone," Sakura informed nervously, not meeting any of her boys in the eyes. She didn't want to say the name in front of all of them.

"No. Tell us now," Sasuke demanded. The rest nodded their agreement.

"Yes," Sai said.

"We all want to know," Naruto added.

"I—" Sakura protested.

"Sakura," Kakashi warned.

"Fine!" Sakura huffed.

She unfolded the paper again, turned it so the writing was facing outward and showed them.

**A/N: **Huehuehuehue, whose name is on the piece of paper? (Some of you might already know my OTP, so you could probably guess who is on it :3 Don't worry, though, it's still a harem fic!)

I wanted to get this out to you guys today, so thorough editing was not completed, but no worries. What did you think about the chapter? I'm planning about two more before it's finished.

P.S. Smut next chapter, I think *waggles eyebrows*

Constructive and/or nice reviews are always appreciated ^_^


	5. Hold A Lover Close

**A/N: **Hey! I know it took me kinda long, but between finals, Christmas, and New Year's, there wasn't much time for me to write.

Okay, so my conscience (*ahem* and this site, I guess) obligates me to WARN YOU THAT THERE ARE ADULT THEMES IN THIS CHAPTER! SO I GUESS THAT MEANS NO ONE UNDER 18(?), BUT I KNOW A LOT OF YOU WILL PROBABLY NOT LISTEN AND I CAN'T REALLY DO ANYTHING ABOUT THAT!

So enjoy!

How did you guys guess who it was? Hehehehe.

This chapter is extra-long, because apparently, I can write lengthy smut scenes…and because I made you guys wait so long. Sorry.

Oh and the song is really good to listen to while reading. It's kinda naughty. (I really love this song, but the title is _way _to long for me to name the chapter after. All of the titles in _A Fever You Can't Sweat Out_ are extremely long, but I loooove it!)

Hold A Lover Close

_"Is it still me that makes you sweat?_

_Am I who you think about in bed?_

_When the lights are dim and your hands are shaking as you're sliding off your dress?_

_Then think of what you did_

_And how I hope to God he was worth it_

_When the lights are dim and your heart is racing as your fingers touch his skin"_

- "Lying Is The Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off"

Panic! At the Disco

Sakura was unsure of just how to react to the name displayed on the paper. It was as if she had seen it with stranger's eyes; the name had provoked no feelings in her, she'd simply shut down her mind, which had been in complete chaos just moments before. An echoing silence had enveloped her in the few seconds that it took to read the name and turn the slip of paper around to show the others, and then her mind had jumped back on overdrive with an extra dose of frenzy.

The realization of who it actually was had hit her with what felt like an equivalency of a steel frying pan to the face.

Before reading the name, Sakura had not actually thought of which one she'd pick or if she had a preference. After all, anyone of her teammates was extremely handsome. Each had distinct physical and personal characteristics that were pleasing: There was Naruto with his soft cerulean eyes, whose look and smile was heart-melting. There was Sai with his artist's steady, precise hands and calm eyes. Kakashi and his aloof, but enveloping nature which encased anyone he wished with heat, just by a simple gaze. And Sasuke with his heavy stare that deliciously crushed you under its intensity. Not to mention they all retained extremely fit bodies worthy of a god. They were all full-grown men that exuded masculinity at its rawest.

No, it wasn't about looks, Sakura supposed, but about personality. She was completely oblivious to which personality she would rather to take to bed and to be sure, they each held their own pleasurable promises. She'd forbade herself of the thinking of them that way before their declaration was made, because she felt guilty, but now, she could wonder all she wanted as long as they didn't find out. It would be her secret.

Sakura held up the paper for three more, pounding heart beats before lowering her arms and turning to Kakashi, saying sarcastically, "Well, it looks like you're lucky number one, Kakashi." Sakura hoped she was hiding her panic behind the mask of cynicism.

Kakashi for his part didn't look at all surprised, nor did he show any inclination of a reaction beyond the point of smiling beneath his mask and giving her one of his patented eye-crinkles as she glowered at him.

Now, Sasuke, Sai, and Naruto were another matter…

…they were staring at Kakashi as if they'd like no better than to rip that smile off his face, along with a few inches of his flesh.

Sakura should have expected that.

"Hey, stop that!" she hissed at the three shinobi who had waves of disapproving intent, gushing off of them. "I thought you all agreed to this." She'd no idea what they actually said to each other to convince themselves to agree with this asinine plan, but they certainly weren't complying now.

"We did, but…," Sasuke trailed off, still glaring at Kakashi, who was studiously ignoring the hostile looks being directed his way; he was nonchalantly picking at a spot on his blue shirt.

"You could still choose, Sakura," Sai remarked, while also eyeing a blasé Kakashi with narrowed eyes.

"Yeah," Naruto mused, "Kakashi-sensei's kinda old."

At this remark, Kakashi did react; he frowned at Naruto and mumbled petulantly, "I'm not old," but then brightened, turned to Sakura and said with a cocked eyebrow, "just more experienced."

Sakura tried to shrug off his innuendo by rolling her eyes, but failed somewhat when she blushed.

"Shut up, Kakashi—you're making things worse" Sakura chastised, then addressed Naruto, Sasuke, and Sai in a firm voice, "You agreed to this and now you're going to have to accept it. I said I wouldn't pick, so we found a way that I didn't directly have to and I'm content with it. So please don't make this any more difficult. I don't want to see any fighting or arguing—I can still call this whole thing off if it's going to be too much of a strain on our relationship. Okay?"

She stared at the three of them individually, looking for confirmation. Naruto was the first to nod his head in affirmation, then Sai and Sasuke, albeit a bit more reluctantly.

Sakura sighed in relief and said more to reassure herself than them, "After this things will go back to normal." She tried to ignore the little part in her head that whispered: _no, things will never be normal again._

"Okay!" Sakura clapped her hands, startling the other four. "Now that we have that taken care of, I really would like to get back to sleep because for some reason, I'm still extremely tired. I don't want to be rude, but please leave; you've caused me enough anxiety for one day."

"Well that was a little rude," Kakashi mumbled, then added in a louder voice, "How about—?"

"Not tonight, Kakashi." Dammit, she was blushing again! Sakura couldn't meet his eyes, but she felt four pairs staring at her. "I'm still sick, so I'll tell you when later, when we're alone." She didn't want the others to know—it would make this whole situation even more awkward. Like after a wedding, when everybody knows that the newlyweds are going to go make passionate love, but everyone has the tact not to mention it.

"Alright, Sakura, whatever you wish," Kakashi sighed.

"Thank you," Sakura replied awkwardly.

"Okay then, Sakura, we'll let you get some rest," Naruto spoke up, thankfully filling the awkward silence and prompting the others to leave.

"Oh and thanks for taking care of me when I was sick," Sakura added with a grateful smile to her boys. They nodded and smiled in return.

Naruto walked over to her and gave her another hug that she noticed held a bit of tension, before saying a quick "goodnight" and exiting through the door. Sai did the same following after Naruto, but Sasuke had to have Sakura wave her arms in encouragement, so he could walk over to her and give her a hug of his own accord. He then left, but not before throwing Kakashi another glare as he exited.

Kakashi walked with her towards the open door. Sakura held it open for him, but he stopped suddenly and cupped her cheek in his warm palm while looking directly in her eyes and saying goodnight. He then poofed away, leaving a flustered Sakura clutching her doorknob with white fingers.

…

Once she'd recovered, Sakura had almost sprinted to her room and dived into her blankets, cocooning herself in darkness. Her mind was in disarray.

Kakashi. _Kakashi. _She was going to have sex with _Kakashi. _It made her a nervous wreck, but at the same time uncoiled a sense of desire within her lower whole situation seemed surreal. Sakura half hoped that it was a dream, but the other half hoped that it was completely real—that soon, she would be feeling his warmth on top of her and his weight in between her thighs. Sakura tried to picture inside her head the scenario if she had picked another name: Would she still be this excited?

Yes. Yes, she would be.

She wanted to punch herself in the face.

She squirmed under her blankets and buried her face into her mattress: Could she really go through with this?

If she wanted to get any sleep that night, Sakura was going to have to force these thoughts out of her mind immediately. While trying to accomplish just that, she heard a soft tapping on her bedroom window.

Startled, Sakura peeked her eyes out from under her blanket-fortress to find a familiar messy-haired shadow at her windowsill.

Sakura swallowed. _Kakashi._

_What does he want? _Sakura thought alarmed, _I told him not tonight!_

She crawled over to the window and pushed the curtains away with trembling fingers. Sakura tried to appear calm and collected as she met his gaze with a questioning one of her own. He waved languidly at her and indicated for her to let him in, while giving her another of his eyes creases.

Sakura thought about leaving him outside, but she guessed that he would just find another way in, so she unlatched her window and slid it hesitatingly open.

"What?" she said a little too brusquely. She tried again with a more gentle tone, "I told you not tonight, Kakashi."

"I know, I know, but you seemed somewhat disgruntled before I left. I wanted to make sure you were alright," Kakashi benignly replied. "May I come in?"

Sakura looked at him suspiciously, then sighed, "I guess." She moved aside so he could climb in.

Once he was in and sitting next to her, Sakura turned to reassure him, "I'm fine. I'm just tired, don't worry— "

Sakura didn't get to finish her sentence because she suddenly found her whole body lying flat on her mattress with another, heavier and warmer one, smothering hers.

Her breath stilled and her eyes flicked nervously up to meet Kakashi's infuriatingly calm one's.

"What are you doing, Kakashi?" she breathed.

Sakura fidgeted under his warmth and tried to ignore how good it felt to sense every taut muscle of his on top on her very flustered and sensitive body.

Instead of answering, Kakashi started to slowly knead one hand against her waist. His thumb brushed against a sliver of bare skin in between her pajama bottoms and her top. She shivered slightly and clutched at her mattress. Sakura was alarmed that he could elicit such a response from just touching a small part of her skin. A slow heat was building in between her legs, which increased once his ministrations moved leisurely down from her waist and towards her thigh.

"Kakashi," Sakura said again, although she wasn't sure if she was warning him once more or prompting him further down to a point where she would find release.

Sakura closed her eyes, thoughts of stopping him fleeing her mind, when Kakashi's hand abruptly stilled, just as he was inching towards her inner thigh.

She realized how very desperately she wanted this.

She didn't want him to stop, but she was too embarrassed to tell him so.

"Sakura?" Kakashi breathed in her ear.

"Hmm?" she sighed, hoping he would continue.

"Don't worry about anything, okay?" he whispered, before planting a soft, masked kiss on her lips.

All at once, he was off of her, jumping out the window. An influx of cold air rushed to occupy the space on top of an annoyed Sakura.

She scrambled up to her knees and hollered at his disappearing back, "I HOPE YOU GET SICK!"

A frustrated Sakura huffed her way back under her blankets, knowing that sleep for the night was not going to be a possibility.

…

Sakura didn't want to say that she was avoiding her teammates the following week… but she was expending a significant amount of energy to do just that—especially Kakashi. She tried to make it seem as if she wasn't, though. When Naruto invited her to lunch along with the others during her work breaks, she would always accept, but she found herself taking extra hours at the hospital, so she would get home unreasonably late. Sakura thought that they suspected she was being sneaky, but she assured them that she wasn't—that she was just really busy. It helped her façade when she was always being interrupted in front of them by harried nurses seeking her aide.

She knew she was putting it off and that her two weeks were almost up. In fact, they were over tomorrow. It was Sunday and Sakura was having a mental crisis. She knew all she had to do was give Kakashi the 'ok' and it would happen, but Sakura had kept telling herself that she would do it tomorrow and then the next day or the next, until she only had that one day left. Sakura was considering telling Ino that she didn't care if she won, so long as Sakura could stock the issue away for another day. But every time she thought about it, she would grind her teeth in anger and the competitive nature that had been present since her childhood always won out.

Sakura wanted to tear her hair out. She _knew_ she shouldn't be making such a big deal out of it and she _knew_ she wanted what was to happen, but she couldn't find the courage to actually take the next step. It was so easy to just let Kakashi take control of the situation—like the other night—, without her having to instigate anything. Sakura knew she would have to take control of the situation this time around.

It turned out that the nudge she needed would be given to her just a few hours later.

…

"Haruno-senpai?" a nurse called out to her.

"Yes?" Sakura turned and addressed her. She had been filling out the last bit paperwork for a former patient before her shift ended. Unfortunately, she couldn't stay longer because, as Tsunade had so helpfully informed her, other nurses needed hours also.

"Hogake-sama wanted me to inform you that she would like a word with you after you are finished with your shift," she replied.

Sakura sighed. "Okay, thanks." _I just wanna go take a bath._

She finished off the last paper with a flick of her pen and went to stow away her work and change her clothes. Once she was ready, Sakura headed to Tsunade's office.

She knocked softly on the door and was told to come in. Sakura entered and was surprised to find her four other teammates, also standing in the office. She raised her eyebrows at them in a questioning way, but only received four shrugs in return; it seemed that they didn't know what they had been called in for either.

"You asked for me, shishou?" Sakura asked Tsunade, who was ruffling through various piles of paperwork. She looked up when Sakura spoke.

"Yes, I have a mission for the five of you," she briskly replied, while folding her hands and placing them on top of her desk. "The body of a murdered and sexually assaulted Konoha kunoichi was found yesterday. The crime seems to have the same pattern as the others, which were committed by the same man. Because of the recent incident, I am now permitted to take action in his capture and/or execution and I am sending the five of you to do just that." She paused and retrieved five scrolls, which they walked forward to receive. "His name is Hayato Sugiyama and I'm sure I don't have to tell you that he is extremely dangerous. As of now, we don't know what special abilities he has that makes him such a formidable criminal, because anyone who has seen him use them ends up dead. According to various eye-witnesses, he is described as a fairly robust man, with black hair, blue eyes, with a scar running through the left-hand one and a very distinct tattoo of a mermaid on his right bicep. I would like for you to set out as soon as possible. The rest you will find in the information on the scrolls. Any questions?"

The five of them shook their heads.

"Good, you may go now," she dismissed them with a wave of her hand, but as Sakura was turning to leave, Tsunade called out to her, "Oh and Sakura?"

"Yes?"

"Don't go easy on him," Tsunade commanded with a wink.

Sakura gave her a wicked grin that made her teammates shiver and gulp in fright and said sweetly, "Of course, shishou,", then turned and exited out the door.

They were just exiting Hokage tower, when Sakura made a split-second decision. Without thinking about it, she silently caught Kakashi's eye, nodded and mouthed 'tonight', then let out a breath and continued as if nothing had happened. She thought she saw Sasuke watching them closely, but when she looked again, he was staring straight forward and didn't meet her gaze. Sakura shrugged; Naruto, Sai, and Sasuke had been great about not asking of their little arrangement or if it had transpired yet. For all they knew, it might have already happened… but she suspected that they did know that it had not.

They made plans to meet at the usual spot on the bridge in the morning and then separated and headed to their homes.

…

When Sakura arrived at her apartment, she had taken two showers: The first one to clean herself and the second one out of pure nerves. She knew she had eaten, but Sakura couldn't quite recall what she'd actually put in her mouth. She had been debating with herself whether to drink the whole bottle of wine she had kept in her cabinet, but decided against it; Kakashi wouldn't make love to an inebriated Sakura, he would think it immoral.

Now she was sitting crossed-legged on her bed, letting her damp hair air-dry, and trying not to bite her entire bottom lip off. Sakura had told Kakashi tonight, but she wasn't sure when he was going to arrive. The sun had long since set.

Sakura sighed; knowing Kakashi, he would probably not arrive until one in the morning. Half of her was still hoping he wouldn't come, while the other half was beating that refuting part down, screaming that _of course she wanted him to come! _The war that resided within her mind bombarded her head in equal ferocity with deleterious thoughts of what would happen after tonight, then switched to stimulating eagerness for his arrival and what would transpire when that time came. After tonight, there would always be an uneasy ridge in the relationship she had with her teammates, because they would all _know. _(Sakura was very much relying on the probability that they might be able to overcome this skirmish.) But on the other hand, it was sex… with Kakashi! She had to admit that he probably was the most experienced out of the four, but Sakura wouldn't exactly have been disappointed if she'd picked another name.

It sufficed to say that Sakura was adequately conflicted.

She smoothed her still wet hair down and continued with her lip-gnawing, when there was a familiar tap on the window.

Sakura jumped slightly; she was expecting him to come in through the front door—she should have known.

Sakura once again ran her hands through her hair and took a deep breath before crawling over her bed to unlock her window. She didn't meet his gaze until she had firmly shut her blinds again. When she looked up, he was standing as calmly as ever in her bedroom.

"Hello," Kakashi said simply, usual teasing demeanor absent.

"I thought you were going to use the front door," was the only thing Sakura could think of to reply.

He just shrugged.

The tension and awkwardness in the air on Sakura's part could be cut with a spoon.

She chickened out. "Kakashi, we don't have to do this—"

"—Sakura—" Kakashi started, but Sakura kept on.

"—we can still call it off and not make this situation any more complicated than it already is." By the end of her sentence she was no longer looking at him, but at her own hands, clenched together. "Do you really want this?" _Because I do. And not just with you._

She was thinking things she would never permit herself to say out loud.

Kakashi had not responded and the silence between them was a palpable presence.

"Sakura," he called softly again.

Sakura let out another pent up breath and raised her cautious gaze to meet his still one...

…only to have her mouth gape open in astonishment.

Kakashi has taken his mask off.

There were no extraordinary features to his face, like Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke had wondered about in past years. In fact, his face was quite normal and rather handsome. He had pale lips that balanced the line between full and thin and not bulbous or horrifying in the least. His nose was straight and in great symmetry with his otherwise masculine bone structure. There were slight laugh lines on the sides of his mouth, but otherwise, he looked fairly young.

"Well, there's nothing wrong with your face at all!" Sakura unconsciously blurted out.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Kakashi amusedly replied.

Sakura sat dumbstruck. I was a rather exhilarating experience watching his mouth move and shape the words he uttered without that damn mask to obstruct her view. She endearingly noticed that his left incisor was somewhat chipped, but other than that, his teeth were perfectly straight.

Kakashi walked slowly over to the bed and kneeled in front of her.

Sakura hesitatingly raised her hands and asked, "Can—can I…?" She indicated his face.

He nodded.

Sakura started by placing her trembling hands on his warm cheeks and tracking a path across them. Then, she moved to trail her thumb across his bottom lip. She felt him inhale softly as she did. An index finger went to trace the ridge of his nose where she stopped and giggled.

"What?" he asked curiously.

"You have a face tan-line," she breathed with another small giggle.

He grinned, but then turned serious again. "Sakura, if you really don't want to do this, then you don't have to. It's up to you, but let me give you this first."

Without any more words, he leaned into her and gave her a full, no hindering mask, kiss.

Sakura knew she was a goner from the first touch of his soft lips. As soon as they had met, a deep heat had arisen within her and she knew there was no stopping it. Sakura kissed him back with an equal ferocity that she hadn't known she was capable of until now and threaded her fingers through his soft, silver hair—his distinctly masculine smell, along with a faint aroma of what Sakura took to be a smoky, wood-burned odor, filled her nostrils tantalizingly. With their breath intermingling, he drew slightly back, and then inched closer to take her bottom lip in between his teeth, pulled gently, and ran his tongue along the curve. Sakura let out a small whimper and looked imploringly up at him.

"Do you want me to stop," he asked breathlessly, cradling her face.

Sakura didn't know if she was going to regret this later, but right now, she couldn't really find the strength to care. She shook her head.

Kakashi nodded his head once and stood up to cross the room. Sakura made a noise of protest at his distance, but he just looked at her and grinned again before turning the light off with a flick of his wrist. He then walked purposefully over to Sakura, never breaking eye contact, and attacked her mouth with open-mouthed kisses, while lowering her back into her bed.

Kakashi moved his mouth from Sakura's, to trail heat-filled kisses down her neck as his hand roamed up her bare leg. After her shower, Sakura had not really seen the point of fully dressing again, so she had simply put on an oversized shirt that went down to just below her thighs. And nothing else. She figured that she would be even more embarrassed by removing any extra clothing during the process, so she had kept it simple.

Kakashi paused when he reached her hip and didn't find any hampering cloth stopping his exploration.

"I'm not wearing anything else," Sakura explained nervously.

Kakashi buried his face against her neck, swallowed audibly, and took a deep breath. He then moved his mouth back up to take hers and maneuvered her, so his weight settled lovingly in between her legs. Her hips were deliciously flush with his, when Kakashi _grinded _himself against Sakura in one slow, drawn-out motion.

Sakura gasped in pleasure and surprise, as she felt his arousal educe a sweet pleasure in between her thighs. She rocked her hips up to meet his again, trying to extract the same feeling, only to have his hand stop her movements.

"Patience, Sakura," he whispered with amusement against her ear. Sakura was pleased to hear that his voice was just as ragged as hers.

Annoyed, Sakura wrenched his head towards hers and caught his bottom lip in between her teeth, as he's done earlier. "Don't tease me, Kakashi."

"Not teasing," he mumbled against her lips, "just want this to last as long as possible."

_Just like Kakashi,_ Sakura thought, _always taking is time._

Although right now, Sakura was very grateful for that, if a bit impatient.

Sakura found that after the first kiss, her nervousness and apprehension for this night had evaporated. This was Kakashi and he loved her. He wanted her to experience the fiercest pleasure of her life with him and she was grateful for it. Sakura had been so stupid to kid herself into believing that this act would have felt the same with some other, unknown man. And even though she could not tell him—tell any of them!—that she loved him too, she hoped she could convey it with her actions tonight—by lying next to Kakashi and letting all her misgivings go. Even if it was only him she could express this to, Sakura would allow herself this one night. It would have to be enough.

Sakura fell back into her blankets and let him continue his exploring. Kakashi had hitched up her long shirt up around her waist, but apparently, he had grown tired of the frustrating clothing because in the next instant, he had tugged it off of her with one quick yank.

Sakura blushed as she lay completely bare in front of him—no man had ever seen her fully unclothed before—but didn't move to cover herself. Kakashi had turned the lights off, but a sliver of moonlight still shown through a slit in the curtains, faintly illuminating them both in soft, silver light.

She let him gaze a bit longer, before tugging down once more, so he could resume. Sakura paused when she realized that she was the only one not wearing anything. "Why am I the only one that's naked?" she asked in a put-off manner.

"Because you are the only one who looks this good naked," he retorted matter-of-factly, but he did not stop her as she grabbed, first his flak jacket, and then the hem of his shirt, hurriedly pulling them off. When she had thrown them to the floor, Sakura ran curious hands up and down his taut stomach as he clutched more tightly at her hips with every caress of her hands. Kakashi was all corded muscle and scarred skin, but to Sakura, it did not detract from his attractiveness, it only served to make him more desirable.

Again, Kakashi started with his wandering hands, but Sakura irritatingly noticed that he was mostly sticking to her hips, stomach, and legs. She thought that he was most likely trying not to overwhelm her with unaccustomed touches.

"You're skipping all the good parts," huffed a frustrated Sakura. She didn't know where all her shyness had disappeared to, but what she did know was that she wanted him to touch her…everywhere.

Sakura decided to take matters into her own hands. She grabbed at his roving hands and placed them firmly over her warm breasts.

There was slight surprise on Kakashi's face because of her action, so she decided to relieve his worries. "Kakashi, I trust you. Don't be timid for my sake, please, and don't be afraid to touch me," she reached her hand up and gently pushed a bit of hair behind his ear, "Okay? I trust you."

He smiled and nodded once.

Kakashi pressed his warm palms against her breasts and squeezed lightly. He glanced once at her, then lowered his head and took one hardened, pink nipple into his mouth, sucking and swirling his tongue around the small mound before moving to the next one. Sakura arched her back against the enticing sensations and bit back a loud moan.

Once he was finished, Kakashi moved up to seal his feverish mouth with her own again. His left arm rested next to her waist, while his right hand wandered down her heaving chest and fluttering stomach, to touch her tenderly in between her legs. Sakura jolted in astonishment at being touched in such an intimate spot, but then moved her hand to cover his and started guiding him; she knew that Kakashi wanted her to set the pace. With Sakura leading, he slid his fingers up and down her slick folds and then concentrated on the bundle of nerves at the peak of her sex.

Kakashi's finger pads, rough due to years of countless missions, rubbed against her and elicited a sweet friction that soon had Sakura panting and grasping at the back of his hand in a frenzy. Her hips jerked up in time with his movements when she could no longer form a coherent thought or direct him—until all that was left were their ragged breathing, heated bodies pressed together, and the pressure, lusciously building with every stroke of his rasping hand.

No one had ever told Sakura that sex would be this…desperate.

It was wonderful.

Just as the pleasurable ache was mounting and becoming unbearable, Kakashi unexpectedly removed his hand and positioned his body over hers once more.

Breathless, Sakura aggravatingly asked, "Why—why'd you stop?"

Equally out of breath, Kakashi responded huskily, "Because I want your first orgasm to be with me inside of you."

His words sent another jolt of pleasure through her and she hurriedly bent his head forward to give him a quick kiss. Kakashi then pulled back and kneeled, reached down and started removing the rest of his clothing in what Sakura thought was a deliberately slow manner. Sakura caught a quick glimpse at his aroused state before he lowered himself down again. Swallowing nervously, Sakura decided that _that _was defiantly not going to fit easily. She squirmed uneasily.

Once Kakashi was settled, he slid himself enticingly along her folds, coating his erection in wetness—no doubt to make her experience less painful—and then positioned his tip at her entrance. Sensing her tension, he moved his mouth up to catch hers and breathed in her ear, "Relax, Sakura," before spreading her thighs father apart and hooking one of her legs behind his back.

Sakura took a deep, shaking breath, and nodded. He pressed his lips to her collarbone before gradually pushing himself, inch by inch, inside of her, with a throaty groan, until he was fully buried within her.

Sakura seized up at the intrusion and lace of hot pain that surged with his act. She gasped in pain and squeezed her eyes shut, while digging her fingernails gruffly into Kakashi's back.

It hurt much more than she'd expected.

Kakashi paused in his movements, because her reaction and said in a barely controlled voice, "Tell me when you're ready, okay?"—he was letting her adjust to his size. He shuffled his face into the crook of her neck, breathed her in, and waited.

Sakura took a few deep breaths and willed herself to relax, then nodded her head for him to continue. Kakashi started by slowly pulling out of her, then pressing forward again, keeping the same steady tempo, so she could accustom herself to it.

A slight stinging pierced Sakura with every plunge of himself into her, but slowly faded and progressively headed to a pleasant throb. After a time, when she could no longer feel any discomfort, Sakura experimented by rolling her hips to meet his as he was sinking into her again. Kakashi shuddered against her when she moved and dug his hands into the mattress on either side of her. Sakura knew he was restraining himself for her sake—he trembled with every forward plunge, his throat worked furiously, and his were eyes screwed shut in concentration. Sakura thought that if this hadn't been her first time, he would be mercilessly pounding into her at this moment.

Sakura brought her lips to his ear and rocked her hips upward again. "It's okay, you can go faster."

Kakashi didn't need to be told twice; he let out a low groan and his speed intensified into a solid thrusting. Sakura was left panting again and long moans escaped her lips, which drove Kakashi into a faster speed every time one left her throat.

Another push into her and he hit a spot that made Sakura's muscles spasm and had her feeling the most extreme pleasure that she had ever before felt in her life. She arched her back as heated skin rubbed against heated skin with a tempting contact that set every nerve of her body on edge. Waves of bliss undulated within her until Sakura was left crying dry, sensual sobs of decadence against Kakashi's shoulder. He reached over to clutch her hand in his as his hips snapped rigid against hers and jerked in an erratic matter as he reached his own climax.

Spent, Kakashi lay against her, while their uneven breathing calmed and their heaving chests stilled. After few minutes, he dragged himself up and planted a soft kiss on Sakura's kiss-swollen lips, before moving off and settling next to her.

Sakura was even now coming down from her pleasurable high, when she thought of something. "Umm, Kakashi, you don't have to spend the night if you don't want—" she became flustered, "—I mean—"

"Sakura?" Kakashi cut in.

"Yeah?"

"Go to sleep," he simply replied, covering them both with her duvet. He pulled her by her waist into himself, so that her back was against his chest and her lower-half molded alongside his.

A sheen of pink tinted Sakura's cheeks when she felt her bottom brush against his groin, but then she sighed, "Okay."

Sakura settled down and fell asleep with Kakashi tracing light patterns along her arm.

…

Sakura groggily awoke early in the morning in a mysteriously good mood. She couldn't pinpoint the feeling until she felt a warm body, breathing calmly beside hers, then she froze. In one fell swoop, memories from last night of passionate kisses and bodies overrun with ecstasy flooded her mind. She bit down on her lip and tried not move, so as to not wake Kakashi. She needn't have bothered. As soon as he'd heard the tempo her breathing change from unconsciousness to consciousness, he had roused. Kakashi encircled her waist with a snug embrace and hauled her flush against him. He started trailing warm, lazy kisses across her shoulder and then moved to suck at her neck. Sakura felt his member twitch beside her backside, making her eyes widen in an odd combination of panic and arousal.

Panic won out. Sakura spoke in what she hoped was a calm voice. "Kakashi, we're going to be late meeting the others." Sakura had forgotten to set an alarm last night and it was a miracle that she'd actually woken up at the right time.

"It's okay," he mumbled against her neck, "I'm always late, anyway."

Sakura shuddered in delight as he shifted his lower-half alongside hers. It would be so easy just to push back and grind herself against his hardness until she felt the same sweet pleasure she had felt… _Sakura, no! _

She'd told herself that she would only allow herself one night and that it would have to be enough. Sakura was going to try her hardest to stick to that promise.

She gathered her strength and shoved his arms off of her, while pushing off the bed, amassing her sheet around her naked body.

"I don't like to be late," she stated, a little out of breath. Sakura chose to crawl off the end of her bed rather than risk climbing over him; she was sure that if he decided to draw her on him, she wouldn't stop him. Once she was on her feet, she stumbled somewhat due to a strange soreness in between her legs. Her lower muscles, which were unaccustomed to being stretched in such a manner as they were last night, protested while she walked as briskly as possible to her bathroom. Sakura left Kakashi lying glumly on her bed, eyeing her with a calculating gaze that unnerved her to no end.

Once she had firmly closed the door and locked it, Sakura went over to examine her reflection in the mirror. She wasn't sure what she was expecting—maybe a stranger wearing her skin, telling her that last night had not happened to her or that it was a dream—but what she saw was the same pink-haired girl, with familiar facial features and expressions. Her cheeks were a bit flushed and her hair jumbled into a mess, but otherwise, she felt rather normal… and _herself. _It surprised her; she was expecting to feel and resemble a different person.

That was what Sakura had feared; there were no uneasy feelings of what she had done last night or any lingering regrets, it had all felt right and so wonderfully good. The inconsequential moment of pain at the beginning of it all and the soreness she felt now, was a mere speck of irreverence compared to the bliss felt at the end. Sakura was frightened that in trying to distance herself from this situation by indulging in one night, that it did not work, but only served to pull her in deeper than she had realized. It had not just been sex for either of them, but a deeper method of expressing their connection to one another. How could she look any of them the same way again, when she knew what it was to actually experience that passionate act with someone you loved? Sakura told herself that she was calling it quits after last night, so memories of her night with Kakashi would have to suffice; it would be very dangerous, indeed, to daydream about how it would feel like with the others, so she would do her best not to.

Sakura shook her head to try to rid her mind of these clouding thoughts and told herself that she had a mission to accomplish. She turned the shower on and tried to breathe easily under the warm trickles of water that ran down her back, spouting from the showerhead. She quickly scrubbed herself, careful to be gentle around the tenderness between her thighs, and then turned off the water, stepping out of her tub. (She did not want to expend extra energy to ease her small discomfort with chakra—Sakura might need it later for the mission.) She quickly realized that in her haste to leave the strain mulling in her bedroom, she had forgotten to bring any fresh clothes with her. Sakura wrapped a towel tightly around herself and cautiously opened the door. What she found was Kakashi sitting at the edge of her bed, thankfully wearing a pair of pants. He looked up when she emerged and she saw that he had not yet attached his mask to his face.

Sakura stood momentarily stunned at unusual the view of seeing his uncovered face, bathed in early morning light, before shaking herself out of her stupor and saying awkwardly, "I forgot to get clothes." She couldn't raise her gaze to stare him directly in the eyes without thinking of last nights' events and then turning a deep shade of red.

Kakashi nodded and then indicated the bathroom with a raised hand. "Can I use your shower?"

"Yeah."

He stood and headed for the bathroom, making no more moves to touch Sakura, and leaving her alone to change into her proper mission attire. Sakura then decided, rather than standing about dawdling, she should make herself useful and go make them both breakfast.

She had prepared a light meal for them by the time Kakashi had finished his shower. She handed him a cup of steaming coffee, while finishing her own. Conversation was scarce beyond the occasional quiet question or mumbled 'thanks'. Sakura kept sneaking quick peeks at his exposed face, trying to decipher his mood, but at the same time admiring his facets. What she perceived was his usual apathetic expression, with and undertone of what she guessed was solemnness—although, it might just still be sleepiness and Sakura may have been reading too much into it.

Once they were finished, Sakura gathered their dishes and set them away before getting ready to depart.

"Are you ready?" asked Sakura as she stood by the door. Kakashi nodded and gathered his mask and hitai-ate from the tabletop before coming to stand in front of Sakura. He looked at her with both eyes—red and black sharringan and normal, dark one—and Sakura realized that his mismatched eyes had been exposed during last night's events.

He placed one finger under her chin and nudged it up. She did not meet his eyes, choosing to stare at a spot on his left cheek.

"Sakura?" He wanted for her to look him in the eyes.

Sakura sighed and met his gaze. "Yeah?"

An expression that was impossible for Sakura to interpret flashed across his face. He did not elaborate further, but instead, leaned down, and planted a gentle kiss on her lips. Sakura closed her eyes, basking in the electrifying feeling, but did not kiss him back. She let her arms hang limply at her sides.

He breathed against her lips. "Nevermind," he said quietly and pulled away.

Sakura stood uneasily for a few seconds before they gathered their needed supplies and walked out the door, with Sakura in the lead. She locked her door and then they were on their way.

They were halfway to their meeting place—traveling through an awakening town, covered with morning fog— when Sakura recognized a troublesome thought and paused; if Sakura arrived with Kakashi, Sai, Sasuke, and Naruto would know for certain what had occurred. Kakashi was _never_ early or on time and him appearing with Sakura would only serve to confirm the other three of what had happened last night. She remembered Sasuke's stare the day before, so they probably already suspected, but now they would know for sure. They said that they had come to terms with the whole situation, but Sakura knew them better than that—there would be bucketful's of awkwardness and continuous glares.

Kakahsi stopped when he realized Sakura was no longer following him. He looked back at her with a now covered face and raised an eyebrow, "Is something wrong?"

Sakura knew it would be ridiculous to ask him to wait and arrive after her—and that if she suggested it, he would probably just look at her as if she was demented. She shook her head "No, nothing," and forced her legs to continue walking. He turned back around, but not before she caught the sight of a small smirk upon his masked face.

_Bastard, _fumed Sakura internally, _he knows exactly what I'm thinking. He probably wants them all to know about last night._

They came upon the bridge with her other three teammates waiting and Sakura, seethed in a haze of incense, momentarily forgot the forthcoming dilemma.

Naruto, Sai, and Sasuke looked up as they heard Kakashi and Sakura approaching. Naruto had a slight frown of concern on his face as he studied Sakura, but Sai and Sasuke on the other hand, were staring at Kakashi with evident displeasure. Sakura stood uncomfortably, sure that her cheeks were bright red, judging by the heat she could feel coursing through them. No one had spoken yet and she irritatingly noticed that Kakashi had abandoned her and pulled out his infuriating book, ignoring them all.

She sadly noticed that neither Naruto nor Sai had come to give her a hug.

Sakura cleared her throat and said stiffly, "Good morning. We should get going." She marched ahead and starting leading the way, not waiting for them to follow.

They eventually trailed behind her and Naruto came to walk next to her. Kakashi, she noticed, was walking annoyingly close to her, probably trying to bother and infuriate the others more.

There was not just a metaphorical elephant present in the room, but an obese, metaphorical elephant that was on crack, in the room. It was a hectic, looming weight on all their shoulders.

She heard Naruto exhale purposefully beside her and then ask, "Do you know where we're supposed to head?"

Sakura looked up at him gratefully; she knew that he was trying to make an effort to get things back to normal, because surely he already read the information on the scroll, given to them the day before?

She answered him back with a smile, "Yeah, the scroll said that Sugiyama was still in the general area. We should be able to track him if we head north-bound for about a day or so." Naruto returned her smile and inconspicuously reached down to softly squeeze her hand. Sakura guessed that their teammate's coldness and distance towards each other was hurting him. Sakura squeezed back, a lump forming in her throat; she knew that Naruto would always be the one that never judged her or held any resentment towards her for whatever reason.

Sakura breathed a bit easier.

They walked out past the gates, waving to Izumo and Kotetsu, who were sleepily keeping guard. Once they were outside, Sakura set a brisk running speed through the thick green leaves of the towering trees.

…

They stopped to rest at various intervals throughout the day, with limited conversation throughout each break. Sakura winced every time she sat down; a dull pain lanced up her thighs when she did, but she tried to make it as discreet as possible when she gingerly took a seat. Although, there wasn't much you could hide from four adept shinobi.

During one stop, Sai had come to sit right next to her, so she figured she was forgiven by him, also. Though, Sakura did not know what exactly she needed to be forgiven for, she just knew that she had felt relief when Sai decided to no longer give her the cold shoulder. They were all ignoring Kakashi.

The five of them decided to stop for the night when the sky was a deep, red-orange color and the sun a setting orb on the horizon. They chose a nice clearing and set up camp.

When they were all settled, Sasuke came over to Sakura and crouched down to ask her a question, before stopping suddenly and raising a hand to touch her neck. He made a questioning face, which abruptly turned to a look of discontent.

Sakura looked at him quizzically before realizing, with a jolt, that the spot Sasuke had just touched was precisely the place Kakashi had run his mouth over last night with force. She guessed that she probably had bruises, but Sakura didn't remember him being too harsh, she only remembered that she had wanted him to bite her even more forcefully.

Sakura snapped a hand up to quickly cover her neck. She pushed chakra into her hand and healed the bruises, looking at the ground in embarrassment during the whole process. When she was done, Sakura let her hand slip limply into her lap. Awkwardness was, once again, full-blown in their group.

A bubbling hysteria arose unexpectedly within Sakura and a small giggle escaped her before she could clamp her hand over her mouth to stifle it. She didn't even know why she was laughing—there was nothing funny about their situation. Sakura supposed that it was just extremely hilarious how overturned her life had become throughout the span of two weeks. Her situation had become quite sad, indeed, if she found amusement in her own troubles.

Four pairs of alarmed eyes stared at her.

Sakura hastily stood up and excused herself in an ungraceful manner, "I..umm…I need to go to the—uh—" she stumbled over a protruding tree root in the ground, "—umm…bathroom!" She finally found a believable excuse and turned and made a beeline for the trees.

Sakura pushed her way past the trees, leaving four confused men behind her. When she was far enough away, Sakura stopped and collected her breath. She didn't feel much like laughing now.

Sakura turned her head about to study her surroundings; she had not looked where she was going when she left, she had just wanted to escape the uncomfortable tension in the camp site.

A small stream gurgled a little way off and leaves in various stages of dryness, littered the ground. The trees still held plenty of green foliage, but they were starting to look desolate and bare in places because of the changing seasons. The sun was almost below the horizon, but a yellow glow still illuminated Sakura's path. She took a step back towards their campsite, thinking that she had spent enough time admiring the scenery and that maybe she was composed enough to not make a fool of herself in front of her teammates, when it hit her that there was something very wrong with her surroundings. Her senses went on high alert and her nostrils flared, detecting a danger close by. Sakura turned slowly and tried to pinpoint the cause of the feeling. She inched a hand toward a kunai on her belt, preparing herself for an attack, when she alarmingly realized that the leaves she had stepped on had not made a sound as they should have. The clearing she had stumbled upon was oddly muffled to the outside, almost like a bubble of calm.

It was a genjutsu and a trap, distracting her from the creeping menace.

"Shit," Sakura breathed. In a flurry, Sakura located the weakest point of the genjutsu with her chakra and dispelled it, getting ready for an immediate attack. But it did not come.

Sakura experimented by taking another step, testing to see if the leaves would crush under her feet, like they were supposed to if she really had dissipated the genjutsu. Maybe she had not dispersed it as properly as she'd thought. She probed her chakra around the clearing and found another genjustu set, but it was distinctly different from the first one.

_Oh no, _Sakura realized in an instant, _it's a layered genjutsu!_

Too late.

The genjutsu had distracted her from the imminent threat skulking her way. Sakura didn't even have time to turn around to see her perpetrator before there was a deep, slithering whisper in her ear. "Well, well, you dispelled that genjutsu very fast, girly. You're going to be fun."

And her world went black.

**A/N:** Of course it was Kakashi's name! *cough*the love of my life*cough*

Yep, Sugiyama has taken Sakura D:

Again, sorry for the wait, but I hoped you enjoyed the super-long chapter! (But I did get an A in all my classes, so yay!) I'm thinking that the next one will be the last one.

Oh and Happy New Year!

Constructive and/or nice reviews are always appreciated ^_^


	6. Army of Me

**A/N:** Hello! I've been sick and I'm just now getting over it and as a result, I haven't had much motivation to write. But no matter, here's the chapter!

It seems that people are a bit confused to weather I'm going to write Sakura with the other guys? Don't fret; I was planning on putting snippets of their sexy times in this story.

Oh and I noticed that when I copy and paste my story onto the FF website, that it sometimes erases some of the words. Sorry about that :/ I guess from now on, I'll just have to edit it after I've already submitted it as a doc.

(This song is awesome! It's from the Sucker Punch movie, by the way. The whole soundtrack makes you wanna go out in a mini-skirt, with a sword on your belt to fight crime, and kick ass in your knee-high boots.)

Enjoy!

Army of Me

_"Stand up_

_You've got to manage_

_I won't sympathize_

_Anymore_

_And if you complain once more_

_You'll meet an army of me"_

- "Army of Me"

Bjork

"Something's wrong," Sasuke said. An uneasy feeling had been prickling its way up his spine since Sakura left.

"Yeah I know, I felt it, too," Naruto replied with a troubled look on his face.

Sai was staring worriedly at the spot where Sakura had disappeared. Kakashi had put his book down, unsettled by the prolonged absence of their pink-haired teammate. Their coldness towards each other was momentarily forgotten and replaced by the feeling that something was amiss.

"I think I'll go check on Sakura," Naruto stated, making to get to his feet. He hoped that the anxiety clenching in the pit of his stomach had no connection with her.

"No," Kakashi interrupted him, "we'll all go. Let's hurry up and pack up our supplies." He knew that when they located Sakura, they would not be spending the night in a place that communicated such apprehension.

Each packed their belongings at record speed, hoping that in the process, Sakura would come walking back just as she'd left, asking why they were leaving and alleviating their worries.

She did not come.

"Sakura's been gone for too long," Sai intoned, finally giving voice to their worries.

No one answered him, which served as a confirmation that they were all thinking the same thing.

They said no more and instead made to follow Sakura's earlier trek through the forest, rendering haste and dread mounting with each heavy step.

…

Sakura awoke in fits and bursts of disorienting consciousness until she was fully aware. She tried to make her alerted state a secret; a favorable rule for a ninja was that when you were captured, you made your entrance back into wakefulness as unnoticeable as possible, so as to have a surprise edge on your attacker.

The first matter that came to mind was the dull, throbbing ache at base of her neck where Sugiyama had no doubt clonked her. The cotton-like fuzziness coating her parched mouth alerted her to the fact that she'd probably been out for a good two hours, at least.

Sakura had no doubt that she'd been attacked by Sugiyama, even though she had not seen his face. A layered genjutsu was an extremely advanced form of combat that not many have mastered. The perplexing qualities of one genjutsu were enough to keep a user sufficiently distracted, let alone trying to conjure two. Two served the purpose of disorienting the victim, allowing the castor to have an advantage of possessing not one, but multiple methods of obscuring the danger to an unsuspecting victim. Most individuals only expected one, seeing as they were so difficult to escape from and cast, but once the first one was severed, the second one was lying in wait to trap the unwary prey. And, despite her affinity for detecting such things, Sakura had fallen right into it.

It now made sense that Sugiyama's actual powers were kept secret for so long. He did not use force to extract what he wanted, but stealth and manipulation. It would be easy enough for him capture any unfortunate girls by luring her in with a false image and then pouncing when the time was right. He never made a scene and never released any of his targets, so as not to leak his greatest weapon and give others a heads up and a chance to counter it.

Sakura heard panicky voices passing back and forth above her still form. They were strange, though; the hushed murmurs seemed to reverberate and echo throughout the confinement she had been shoved into.

Without opening her eyes, Sakura took a quick whiff of the air, assessing her environment through olfactory senses. Although her nose might never be as good as Kakashi's, Sakura did sense a musky, humid aroma that was heavy on her nose and skin. She also discovered that she was lying on a damp, rocky floor with her cheek scraping roughly against the surface. The wet and cold, rising from the coarse ground seeped into her clothes, making the side that she was resting on numb.

Seeing no other choice, Sakura quickly flicked her eyes open to look at her environment, making sure to keep her breathing at the same rhythm as when she been unconscious. But that did no good, because once she'd parted her eye-lids, an absolute darkness had pressed on her eyes like a dense weight. Well, at least that confirmed one of her suspicions.

She was in a cave.

The murmurs still continued. Sakura opened her eyes and listened to the pitch and repetitiveness of the sustained conversation.

_Three, _she confirmed, _three female voices._

"Do you think she's alright?" one voice mumbled.

"She's been out for a long time," another whispered.

"Maybe we should try to wake her," the third quietly suggested.

"Okay, but don't startle her, we don't want to draw _him _in here," the second voice replied.

She heard shuffling noises coming towards her, but Sakura, sensing no threat coming from them, dragged herself into a sitting position, feeling like a sack of rocks and said, "No it's alright, I'm awake."

The approaching rustling stopped. Sakura wiped sluggishly at her eyes and rubbed one hand over the painful lump on the back of her neck. She tried to summon her chakra, but as she's feared, it did not arise; it was as if her prison issued forth a stifling presence that chocked her usually perfect control. Sakura breathed out a large sigh and told herself not to panic. All her weapons were, of course, missing as well.

"Are you hurt?" one timidly asked.

"No, just a small bump," Sakura replied, blinking against the black surrounding her sight.

"You're probably wondering where we are," another supplied.

"I have a pretty good idea," Sakura said unhappily. No doubt that psycho, Sugiyama, had dragged her into his creepy, serial killer lair and dumped her into this place along with his other victims. "Why is my chakra blocked?" Sakura asked. She had no restraints on her wrists, so there had to be another source.

"The walls of this prison are engraved with some kind of weird symbols," a girl informed, "but we don't know what they mean. Are you a kunoichi?"

"Yeah," Sakura said, "Are any of you?"

"No," came an upset voice from her left, "he usually takes care of those first. We're just civilians, that's why he keeps us longer—we don't put up much of a threat," her voice turned urgent, "You didn't see anyone when he brought you in, did you? He took my sister two days ago, she's a kunoichi, too and I don't know what happened to her."

Sakura felt sick. "No, I'm sorry. He knocked me out and I just now woke up, I didn't even see what direction he went. I don't suppose any of you know?" Sakura wanted to get her bearings and figure out what course he had taken. She'd estimated that she'd been unconscious for about two hours, but Sakura had no real means of calculating just how far he'd gone in that time span. She felt certain that, by now, Sai, Kakashi, Sasuke, and Naruto were searching for her. Sakura guessed they were still probably in Fire country, because she'd only now came to the conclusion that the reason there had not been many Konoha victims, was because Sugiyama had not wanted to draw attention to his hideout.

"No, he made sure we were all out cold before he brought us in. I'm from Suna," the third voice, farthest from her answered.

"Okay," Sakura tried not to show her frustration that she had nothing to go on, "why don't we start by you guys telling me your names and how you got here?"

"I'm Himura Akiko," said the girl from Suna.

"I'm Kato Chika and I'm from Ame," said another.

"And I'm Hamasaki Izanami," the one closest to her offered, "I'm from Ame, too."

"We all got here pretty much the same way," Izanami voiced for all of them, "we were out late one night and suddenly someone attacks us from behind. We never even saw it coming, it was weird. Then he brought us here, but he drugged us along the way and only kept us awake long enough for us to eat."

"He used a genjutsu," Sakura informed them, "It's a type of illusion."

"Yeah, that's what my sister said," Chika spoke. "I hope she's alright," she whispered, almost to herself.

Sakura didn't have the heart to tell her that, judging by Sugiyama's record, she probably wasn't even alive.

"How long have you been in here?" Sakura asked.

Akiko answered, "I came in first—and it's hard to tell time in here—but I think I've been here for about a week. Chika and her sister came a day after that and then Izanami the day after that."

Sakura took a deep, meaningful breath and addressed the girls with conviction, "Akiko, Chika, and Izanami?" She felt their attention focused on her. "My name is Haruno Sakura, I'm a kunoichi from Konoha, and I'm going to get us the fuck out of this place."

…

Throughout the next hour (or so she estimated) Sakura learned more about her fellow cellmates. None of them had any family members that might have worried or bothered to come looking for them, except for Chika who had been brought in with her sister. Sakura became even more disgusted with Sugiyama because he had apparently done his research before attacking; these girls would clearly not be missed for a while, if at all.

Sakura suspected that she'd been captured only because she'd happened to be in his relative vicinity and Sugiyama had clearly not wanted to waste such a good opportunity to invest himself in his maniac ways. She should have been more cautious when she decided to wander out by herself in dangerous territory, but unluckily for him, he'd probably thought that she'd been traveling alone.

Akiko was a fifteen-year-old house maid from Suna. Her disposition was more timid than the other two, but Sakura wondered if that was because of the atrocities that'd been committed against her in her time here or if she was that way to begin with. Sakura couldn't blame her, she'd only been in here a few hours and already she felt as if she was going to bang her head against the wall just to keep herself sane. Akiko had been an orphan since the age of seven.

Chika, an eighteen-year-old, maintained a composed air, but Sakura could sense the raw fear beneath her calm exterior. She feared for her sister. She told Sakura that while her sister (Hiro) worked as a kunoichi, she herself did odd jobs around the village to help keep them off the streets.

Izanami was the most outspoken. She was a year older than Sakura and behind every word she uttered, Sakura could sense a persistent resolution that told her Izanami was dead-set on getting out of here and seeing the sun again. She'd unashamedly told Sakura that before being captured, she had been working at a brothel to "keep herself alive, in a manner of speaking" as she'd put it. Sakura didn't judge her as Izanami had expected. Sakura couldn't even begin to imagine just how desperate a woman had to be to put themselves in that situation and she sure as hell wasn't going to condemn another person for it. All Sakura knew was that she was going to get them all out of there alive.

"How often does he come in here?" Sakura asked, trying to formulate a plan. She didn't need to elaborate who _he _was.

"Twice," replied Izanami. "Once to feed us and the second time to pick which of of us he's going to have for the night." She said the last phrase with no more concern than one does talking about what kind of drink they were going to have with their lunch. "The other cave he takes us to is just down a little further from this one. I'm guessing there's a series of interlocking one's, but we've only seen those two."

"Does he even take you out to use the bathroom or anything?" Sakura asked, trying to ascertain if they knew of the cave's layout.

"There's a bucket in the corner," Akiko uttered in a hushed voice.

Sakura stopped asking questions.

She took another breath and then told them the first part of her plan… which was pretty much the only part. "Okay, so I don't really know anything about this place and what information I had before he dragged me here was very little—you see, I was sent to capture or eliminate him. So when he comes to pay us a visit again, I need him to take me out of this cave instead of one of you."

But what if he chooses one of us," Chika asked, concerned.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure he picks me," Sakura affirmed.

"And after that?" Akiko asked, sounding hopeful.

"I got it all planned out," Sakura lied smoothly, "You guys just sit tight for a while longer and we'll be out of here in no time."

"You promise," Akiko almost pleaded.

"Yeah," Sakura promised. "I'll even let you chop a part of him off when I've got him captured." She had no doubt as to which part they wanted to cut off.

"I can't wait," Izanami spoke up with delight.

Chika and Akiko chuckled.

"But," Sakura tried to keep her voice light, "if anything happens to me, don't be scared, okay? Sugiyama probably thinks no one else is looking for me, but I have four other teammates who are out there searching for me right now and I know for a fact they're going to find where this asshole took us, it's only a matter of time." Sakura hoped it was only a matter of _short_ time because she had no idea what she was getting into with Sugiyama.

"So that's his name," Izanami said to herself.

"Sakura?" Akiko said hesitatingly.

"Yes?"

She heard rustling movement coming towards her and then a tentative hand patting her arm until it found her hand. "Thank you…and be careful." To Sakura she sounded no older than a mere child, which raised a fiercer sense of protectiveness for the three girls.

Sakura squeezed her hand comfortingly and said in a strained voice, "No problem."

Chika and Izanami also started to voice their gratitude, when a faint light came advancing from further down the dank corridor. The slight illumination offered Sakura her first view of her place of confinement as well as the three girls.

As Chika had told her, the humid walls were harshly carved with runes. Some Sakura recognized from previous studies, but others were completely new. Their purpose, though, was obvious. The opening of the cave was barred by long metal rods that reached from top to bottom, also engraved with symbols. The space inside the jail was big enough for the four girls to maintain their own personal space, but there was not room for much else.

Sakura turned her sight to assess the three girls, but flinched at the state of the three. Their clothing was ripped and marred with dirt, so much so, that the original color of their garments was impossible to identify. Once the light had appeared Akiko, Chika, and Izanami had shrunk in on themselves to make their presence as unnoticeable as possible.

Akiko, who Sakura saw first, had fair locks that drifted in matted tangles around a face that still retained some of its childhood softness. Her eyes had gone wide with fear and she had buried a bruised face against her arm, while her slight body shook next to Sakura's.

Chika had also expressed some alarm and had turned her gaze to look at Sakura with urgent eyes. She had a shorter, but shapelier build and shockingly red hair that fell past her waist. A ghastly welt adorned her left cheek.

Izanami was the one who had the most appalling injuries. From what Sakura saw, all of her visible skin, from her neck up and her wrists to her hands, was covered in mottled bruises in various stages of healing. Her skin resembled a grisly collage of yellow, blue, red, and black patches that looked painful just by looking at them. Long black hair covered half of her delicately built features. Although she had unconsciously hunched in on herself because of the incoming footsteps, Izanami had kept her gaze firmly on the metal bars of their prison. Sakura understood why she had so many injuries.

Izanami caught a quick glimpse of Sakura and quirked an eyebrow. "You have pink hair."

Sakura sighed.

The light finally reached the entrance of their cave and attached to the source of the light was Sugiyama himself. After what Sakura had seen and heard from the three girls, she looked at him with even more disgust and contempt than she'd originally thought was possible. His sturdy form stood compellingly overbearing and sinister as he gazed at them with a self-satisfied smirk upon his somewhat squashed face. He looked greasy and dirty and just plain repulsive.

He produced a large key from the waistband of his trousers and inserted it into the lock while speaking to them as one did to a favorite pet: "Hello, dears. Having fun chatting? I hope you warmly welcomed our new little house guest, don't want anyone to feel left out, hmm?"

While Sugiyama was busy chatting to himself, Sakura inconspicuously reached a hand up behind her head and withdrew the pin she always kept hidden in her hair during missions. She brought it down and hid it up her sleeve in one fluid motion before their cell door was wrenched open with a shriek of metal scratching against rock.

He took a step inside and gazed at them all with a self-righteous smile that made Sakura even angrier. "Now, don't look at me like that, Iza," he chastised Izanami, "Didn't you learn your lesson last time? You ladies don't have very much to complain about; I treat you good, don't I?"

Sakura looked at him with absolute disbelief. _I this guy for real? _She thought, incredulous. _He's fucking insane!_

"Well," Sugiyama's voice now took a dangerous undertone, "Who's going to be the luck lady to accompany me this evening?" He asked the question, but it was clearly rhetorical, seeing from the way his slimy gaze assessed each of them in turn. His eyes came to rest on a quaking Akiko. "Akiko, little dove, you haven't graced me with your pleasant company for some time now."

Sakura had come to the conclusion that attacking him outright and without her chakra would probably not be the best course of action for now. She did not want to get any of the other girls involved in any fighting that might ensue, so she would have to bide her time and attack when he took her out of her prison. Waiting for her teammates was also not an acceptable option because either way, whether they liked it or not, Sugiyama was going to assail one of them tonight and Sakura was having none of that. She slowly got to her feet and put her plan into action. Everyone tensed and Sugiyama stopped his trudge to Akiko to regard her with a wary eye.

"Ah, my pink kunoichi, I'll take care of you later," Sugiyama stated dismissively, but Sakura interrupted him.

"You've got an appalling fondness for pet names, did you know that?" Sakura stared at him, making no effort to veil her disgust. She kept talking with an air of appraisal, "You know, I was wondering how small a man's prick really has to be for them to be desperate enough to kidnap innocent girls—and then make the effort to build a place like this, no less. I suppose you couldn't even get a woman to touch you with a face like that. Am I getting close?"

Izanami, Akiko, and Chika gawked at her with horrified expressions, but Sakura paid then no mind—she'd accomplished what she had set out to do. She kept her eyes fixed on Sugiyama whose sickly false smile had steadily melted from his face with every word Sakura uttered until it was replaced by a look of fury that made his hideous face purple.

He strode over to her and Sakura braced herself for an assault. She heard a hand flashing through the air before she felt a sharp pain in her left cheek. Sakura tasted blood in her mouth immediately. Her head was thrown back with the force of the strike and it banged against the cave wall, bringing bright lights, glaring against her vision. She blinked to clear her sight.

"It seems," he said, voice shaking with rage, "I'll have to teach you a lesson first." He brought out a strange, tough fabric, also encrypted with runes, and started binding Sakura's hands in front of her with harsh tugs. He knew Sakura possessed chakra capabilities, but luckily for her, he didn't know how far and extensive that knowledge went; Sugiyama most likely thought she was of average abilities. Sakura smirked. This creep had no idea who he was messing with.

"Did I hit a sore spot?" Sakura mocked.

He backhanded her across her face again. Sakura's legs almost threatened to buckle, but she gritted her teeth and forced herself to stay conscious. She considered spitting the blood welling in her mouth at his face, but disregarded the idea; another hit like the previous ones would surely knock her out cold.

"Stop talking," he hissed, dragging her out of the cell before locking it again. Sakura stumbled out after him, but she caught one last glimpse at three terrified girls before she was led away towards another concave area down the murky corridor.

"How do you keep the girls from picking at the locks?" Sakura asked, ignoring his warning. He didn't answer; he just yanked on her hands. "You probably have some kind of jutsu on it, don't you?" Sakura guessed, not expecting him to reply.

They had reached another damp room and Sakura saw an assortment of soggy blankets, messily covering a spot on the floor and a ninjato lying out of reach, all were illuminated by a battery operated lamp. The room was strangely empty and Sakura revoltingly realized that this was only a place where he took care of his business with the poor girls he dragged in here. Sakura did not want to wonder how many terrified girls had drawn their last breath in this horrible, dingy place.

Sakura was roughly shoved onto the pile of blankets and she fell with a jarring thud, making the injuries on her face throb more. Sugiyama stood breathing heavily over her, his face a mask of irritability.

He started undoing his belt, while spitting harsh words at Sakura. "You little bitch; I'm going to make you wish you'd kept your mouth shut." He paused and gave her another maniac smile, the scar on his left eye stretching tight and pink. "I'm going to break you and leave you as submissive as those other girls in there. Let's see where your smart mouth goes when I have you begging me to stop."

"I don't think you'll get a lot done if you keep talking that much," Sakura mused. Sugiyama paused, arched a leg back and kicked her brutally in the ribs. Sakura bit back a scream when she felt two of her bones crack beneath her skin.

While she was gasping in pain, Sakura tuned over to hunch her body into a ball, trying to regain her breath. Using her momentarily obscured position, Sakura silently slid the pin up her sleeve, down into her hand. The pin was about the length of her thumb, flat, and deceptively thin, but a notch on the side, when pulled, revealed a razor thin blade that was wickedly sharp. There was no way she was going to let this creepy fuck touch her. For now her objective was to get to the ninjato lying a few feet away.

_He's going to wish he hadn't left that lying around, _Sakura thought vindictively.

Sugiyama turned her harshly over, shaking her out from her curled up position, climbed over her and pinned Sakura down with suffocating weight. He was breathing hard and a cloying stench of decaying teeth invaded Sakura's nose, almost making her gag.

He pushed her arms up to the level of his neck, which gave Sakura grim satisfaction, before reaching down in between them and ruthlessly wrenching her pants to the side, ripping the top button off and jerking the zipper down to reveal her underwear.

Sakura clamped her legs shut, but he pried them open, heaving himself in between them. Sugiyama's sweaty neck came into closer range of Sakura's bound hands as she located his jugular, preparing herself to strike, but before she could, Sugiyama suddenly shoved a grimy hand down under her panties and touched her. His rough hand chafed against her sensitive flesh and jagged nails cut painfully into her as he shoved his hand further down.

Sakura froze in horror and abhorrence at the unwanted intrusion. A hint of panic threatened to overwhelm her mind, so she blindly struck out at a random spot on his neck, if not to inflict serious harm, then only to give her a chance to get him off of her.

Soft flesh yielded under the sharp metal as Sakura, with a small disgusted cry, pushed the miniature blade as far as it would go, before she started yanking it up and down in order to inflict more injury. Crimson drops splattered against her shirt.

Sugiyama howled and clutched at the wound on the side of his neck, momentarily forgetting Sakura. She took her chance and rammed her legs into his stomach, effectively shoving his weight enough off of her so she could move.

Sakura scrambled to her feet and made a lunge for the ninjato lying a few feet away. Her hand almost touched the cool metal before she felt a large hand encircle her ankle and she fell onto her stomach with a violent crash.

Sakura didn't turn to look at Sugiyama's face, twisted into a knot of rage, and kept struggling, hands grasping at the coarse floor, willing herself just a little closer to the weapon that would save her life.

"I'm going to kill you, you—" he rasped at her, but Sakura managed to gain purchase on the uneven floor and she aimed a kick for his face. Her foot connected with a satisfying meaty crunch and Sakura made the last lunge and wrapped both bound hands against the hilt of the sword. She rolled her body on her back just in time to see Sugiyama charging towards her, blood running dripping from his nose and a look of mad fury encompassing his features as he made to cover her body with his again. He hadn't noticed her weapon.

Sakura's tied hands offered her no grace with the sword, so she haphazardly swung it in between their bodies…

…and felt it connect with an object just below his belt.

An infinitesimal pause, in which everything seemed to mute and slow down and speed up at the same time befell the little cave as Sakura let out a quick noiseless breath and watched Sugiyama's formerly furious face slowly turn to one of pure terror.

Then, like a switch had been turned on, noise came flooding back into her senses as he emitted a high-pitched, agonizing shriek that set Sakura's hair on end.

She watched in a sort of horrified fascination as Sugiyama lurched away from her, grasping at the gushing wound in between his legs, letting out screeches of distress.

Sakura shook her head to get herself moving and quickly scrambled to her feet, drooping slightly because of the stabbing pain in her left side. Breathing heavily, she momentarily ignored the injured screams of the emasculated man and turned to hack off her bindings, being careful not to chop off some of her fingers during the process…but they would not come off.

Sakura sawed as forcefully as she dared on the tough grey fabric of the bands, but the material did not rip or show any signs of marring. She hissed in frustration and raised her head to look at Sugiyama, who was rocking himself back and forth on the cave's floor.

Sakura strode over to him and kicked him roughly onto his back, pointing the ninjato at his neck. "How do I get these off!" she shouted at him. He did not answer, only continued to cry in pain.

Sakura pressed the blade into his flesh harder, drawing out a small line of blood. _"Tell me or I'll cut your balls off, too," _she said this with a deathly quiet voice that caught his attention as her yelling had not. Or perhaps it had been the threat itself that had made him acknowledge her.

"I—I have t-to remove them," he sputtered out.

"_Then do it," _she commanded, keeping the blade close to his neck as she kept a wary eye on his movements. "Slowly! And don't make any sudden moves or this time I'll remove your head from your body."

Sugiyama cautiously reached trembling, blood-covered hands up to clumsily untie the strange fabric from her wrists. As soon as they had been removed, Sakura threw them to the floor in alleviation. The choking weight on her chakra had dissipated and she breathed a sigh of relief as she felt her energy return back to her control.

She turned to the whimpering man on the floor. "You're pathetic," she said in disgust. "What am I going to do with you now? I bet you wish you hadn't captured me now, huh?" Sakura couldn't help but gloat a little.

She looked around and decided to pick her former restraints up off the floor.

Sakura studied them and realized that the runes charred onto the fabric allowed the user to be the one any only key to untying and tying the bindings with only the use of modest amount of chakra. Sakura yanked Sugiyama's arms towards her and wound the fabric around his wrists, tying it off with a knot and pushing a bit of chakra into the tie. That seemed to do the trick. No more genjutsu's for him.

She sighed as she looked down at him; Sakura was going to have to at least stop the bleeding, not because she felt any sympathy towards him, but because she'd promised the captured girls their revenge. Anyway, dying by slowly bleeding out on a cold floor seemed too little of a punishment for what this creep had done.

Sakura set about to do just that and was met with no resistance. Sugiyama seemed to have gone into shock and he let her push and prod him as if he was no more than a lifeless dummy. When she was finished, Sakura went over to the moldy blankets on the floor and started to tear them up into long strips, which she twisted together to make a makeshift rope that she tethered around his bound wrists.

"Get up," she demanded harshly. "I stopped the bleeding, so you should be able to walk. Now _get up."_ Sakura gave the rope a strong yank and he stumbled to his feet.

She grabbed the lamp by the handle and headed down the corridor again towards her former cell. Sakura heard panicked voices that abruptly stopped as she drew nearer.

"It's alright," she called as she reached the entrance. "It's me."

All three girls rushed to the bars and looked at her with relief.

"We heard screaming and—and well, it doesn't matter anymore! I'm so glad you're okay!" Akiko said breathlessly.

Chika grinned ecstatically at her and Izanami smiled and cocked an eyebrow at her. "That was fast."

Sakura grinned back and said, "He should have been more on guard around me.

"Did you find my sister?" Chika asked, looking around hopefully.

"No, I'm sorry Chika, but we'll look and I'll make him tell me, okay?" Sakura wasn't sure how reassuring she came across, but she tried her best. "We have to find a way out of here first and I have to contact my team."

"Did you kill him?" Izanami asked.

"Nope," Sakura shook her head and yanked on the rope some more, revealing a tame Sugiyama, hanging his head and staring blankly at the floor.

"Wow, what did you do to him?" Izanami asked, surprised.

"Umm…it was sort of an accident, but I might have cut off something below the belt," she said a little apologetically. "Sorry, I know you probably wanted to do that part."

Izanami looked delighted, if a bit disappointed.

She studied the bars. Sugiyama had the key, but she guessed that it probably possessed the same qualities as her bindings had, so she didn't bother with those. She didn't really feel like going rummaging through his blood-soaked pockets, anyhow.

Brute force it would be. "I need all three of you to stand against the wall—I'm going to break the bars down." The three girls scrambled away from the opening and tucked themselves against the side of the cave.

Sakura gathered charka to her right leg and slammed it into the metal poles. One kick, then two did the trick. The door came loose with an almighty screech and went clanging against the opposite wall. Akiko, Chika, and Izanami looked at the fallen door with amazement for a moment before rushing out to stand next to Sakura. They cautiously scooted away from a catatonic Sugiyama.

Akiko gasped. "Sakura, your face…"

Sakura had no doubt that her face was bruised and bloodied and probably resembled a mosaic of hurt, but she waved it off, "I'm okay. We have to get you out of here first, so I can look at your injuries—you guys have been in here much longer than I have."

"You have healing abilities?" asked Izanami.

Sakura nodded. "It's kind of my specialty."

"You're a medic nin." Chika stated knowingly.

"Yup." Sakura looked up and down the dank corridor. "Which way do you think?"

"Whenever he came in, I always heard him walking from that direction," Akiko said, pointing to the left.

Sakura lifted the lamp, which really only offered her a small bubble of light, and squinted in the direction Akiko pointed and said, "Okay then, follow me."

But before they could take a step, she heard the soft tapping's of running feet coming nearer and nearer with increasing speed. Sakura shoved the rope leading Sugiyama into Izanami's hand, dropped the lamp with a noisy clatter and turned, raising her arm with the ninjato grasped in her hand, bracing herself for an enemy…

…only to stop the edge of the blade a hairsbreadth away from Sasuke's neck.

She lowered the blade slowly, her breath haggard. "You're late."

**A/N: **The end.

I'm just kidding, don't yell at me!

So, apparently, I miscalculated and this chapter would have been way too long if I wanted it to be the last. So you guys get at least two more chapters :D

I thought about having the guys save Sakura, but…a girl's got save herself sometimes, y'know?

Constructive and/or nice reviews are always appreciated ^_^


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